If you are not yet integrated into the French
social system, I'm told you can go with your
passport to this clinic for short-term health care.
I'm told it's 20 Euros per visit and that they
speak good English.
Dr. Pascale Eymard
Institute Arthur Burns--Centra Medical,
36, rue D'Assas, 75006 Paris
Tel: 01-44-39-53-00,
Metro: (Line 4) Vavin
Hotels: Sometimes I think there are more
hotels in Paris than cafes; they seem to pop up
everywhere. For money I've seen spent, I can
recommend two of them to family and friends
visiting the city. Seasonal rates hover around 70
Euros a night for a double with shower and toilet
(yes, you have to ask for these items), and they
are located within a stone's throw from each other,
in the very safe, clean and stereotypically
Parisian 7th arrondissement. (I
swear they studied the sets of the movie "Gigi"
before designing the 7th for tourists).
And after you enjoy a mediocre dinner at one of the
local cafes (such a pretty area, you'd think the
food would be better!), you can walk off all that
butter and sauce by trekking over to the Eiffel
Tower not ten minutes away. *When checking these
sites I took into account their accessibility for
disabled visitors and for the price, both had
decent working elevators, low-level bathroom
facilities and decent sized bedding.
Hôtel du Champs de Mars
7, rue de Champs de Mars, 75007 Paris
Tel: 01-45-51-52-30,
Métro: (Line 8) Ecole Militaire
www.hotel-du-champ-de-mars.com
Hôtel Grand Leveque
29, rue Cler, 75007 Paris
Tel: 01-47-05-49-15
Métro: (Line 8) Ecole Militaire
www.hotel-leveque.com
If your budget is more Youth
Hostels (i.e., 15-18 Euros a night), I've stayed in
two in Paris that I can recommend with
confidence:
Blue Planet Hostel
5, rue Hector
Malot, 75012 Paris
Tel: 01-43-42-06-18,
Metro: (Lines 1, 4, RER-A and RER-D) Gare de
Lyon
If you are older than 25 and/or and have kids,
then I recommend Blue Planet, which provides a more
secluded, quieter family atmosphere that many
hostels still lack. Blue Planet is located behind
the Gare de Lyon, one the city's largest and most
accessible train stations. It can be tricky to
find, but the rates are always reasonable (18-22
Euros a night), facilities are clean and their
Internet is one of the most accessible in the city.
Don't get excited, the "free breakfast" is bread
and jam, coffee or hot chocolate. The 2 a.m. curfew
guarantees a good night's sleep.
Directions: Blue Planet can be impossible
to find on first attempt, as it is so secluded.
Just know that on several street maps, the address
reads "Malot, Rue Hector", not Hector Malot. To
find it from the trains, take Gare de Lyon and exit
via Cr.Diderot/Cr.De Chalon. You'll see two
sprawling cafes across the street and lots of
traffic. Turn RIGHT and walk BACK half a block to
the stoplight. There will be a tunnel for cars to
your right and straight-ahead will be an Italian
restaurant. Cross and head down the alley BEHIND
the restaurant. At the corner you'll see a
4-star hotel. Sorry, that's not it. Turn LEFT and
walk less than half the block pass the cheap
Chinese restaurant (it's a decoy - they never
open!) till you reach the building with the flags.
Voila!
Aloha Hostel
1, rue Boromee, 75015 Paris
Tel: 01-42-73-03-03,
Métro:(Line 12)Volontaires
While I stayed a week at Blue Planet, I only
stayed one night at Aloha, but as one night stands
go, it was fine. The price was right and the young
college staff was appropriately young and confused.
But there were a lot of older couples there, too,
mostly European tourists who rarely stayed in their
rooms. Aloha has less charm than Blue Planet, it's
got more of a 1970's décor, but I got a decent
night's rest for next to nothing and that's what
count.
Le D'Artagnan Youth Hostel
80, rue Vitruve, 7502 Paris
Tel: 01-40-32-34-56,
Métro:(Line 3) Port de Bagnolet
Note: A third option still is to join
Hostelling International. Membership is around $25
to age 55. This is the home office in the
20th and reports are the facility is
huge, with over 400 rooms. Reportedly it has a free
cinema, café, internet and their rates to do
laundry are "legendary". I've yet to investigate,
but I was given their book--Guide des Auberges
de Jeunesse en France, that lists all their
locations in Paris. You can buy it at the hostel or
order it online at
www.fuaj.org.
