Where to stay in Paris

There are hundreds of hotels to choose from in Paris, from the most basic Bed and Breakfast to the most luxurious five-star accommodation. There are also many websites out there to help you to find somewhere that suits your budget and your plans. What I’m offering you on this page is the benefit of my and Iain’s experience staying at a very affordable little hotel near the Gare du Nord, in the 10th arrondissement. I’m not getting any commission from this; it’s a genuine recommendation.

Recommended hotel in Paris

The Cambrai Hotel may have only one star but it provides comfortable, convenient accommodation and the staff are friendly and helpful. They speak English, though they allow you to speak French if you prefer.

There is a bijou lounge, with a computer that you can use, for a small fee, to access the internet.

The Superior rooms are extremely good value (60€ for a single, 65€ for a double, in May 2008) and offer a double bed, reasonable-size room with a television and an ensuite bathroom. For me, the bath was one of the highlights of the trip: a luxurious shape with a built-in shelf for putting my drink on.

Breakfast is extra (6€) and we opted not to have it, thinking it would be more interesting, and perhaps cheaper, to have it elsewhere. On balance, this was a mistake. It made a change to go to a different place every morning but we definitely got less for our money than we would have at the hotel and the cafés around the Gare du Nord are not the friendliest in town.

The Cambrai’s proximity to the Gare du Nord is very handy. We arrived in Paris by aeroplane and the RER line B from Charles de Gaulle to the Gare du Nord (see Getting to Paris for details of how to do this), and were thankful that the Cambrai was such easy walking distance from the railway station. If you fly into Orly, this may not be as good for you, though you can get on to the RER line B relatively easily from there. If you go by Eurostar, you’ll arrive at the Gare du Nord.

As you come out of the Gare, turn right and walk along its front face, along the rue de Dunkerque, until you get to the very small place de Roubaix. The boulevard de Magenta leads out of this square in both directions but you want the way to the right of the rue de Dunkerque. The Cambrai is about two buildings up there, on the left. They will send you directions if you choose to stay there but the point is, it’s really easy!

As it turned out, we didn’t spend much time in the 10th arrondissement but the public transport in Paris is so good that travelling around town wasn’t an issue at all. Although there is a metro station at the Gare du Nord, we found we always used Barbès Rochechouart, the line 2 station five minutes’ walk up the boulevard de Magenta (come out of the hotel and turn left).

You can see more pictures, check the rates and book the Cambrai Hotel on its website www.hotel-cambrai.com.

If you don’t want to stay in a hotel, another possibility is to rent an apartment. There seems to be a wide range available, though generally more expensive than I expected.