paris hotel: st. germain or marais? (last question, i promise!!)

All things being equal, are we better off a couple blocks from the
heart of the marais (border of 3rd and 4th near place des vosges) or a
couple blocks from the heart of saint germain (border of 6th and 7th)?
or is that just a dumb question and it really doesn't matter?

and has starbucks taken over paris or have the cool cafes and a
discriminating population resisted successfully?

thanks again!!

bob

Better off for what? Those are two different areas each with its own
"feel". Personally, I like the Marais, but could also be happy staying
in Saint Germain. Both are quite nice and central.

On 25 Jun 2005 20:11:18 -0700, "Simone"
wrote:

Better off for what? Those are two different areas each with its own
"feel". Personally, I like the Marais, but could also be happy staying
in Saint Germain. Both are quite nice and central.

that's a good question... we don't really know... will either one
effect our time in paris in a "better" way over the other? i guess is
the question. but it's starting to sound like the answer is no...


bob

The Marais has a little more "character" (in my opinon), there seems to
be more diversity in the shops, restaurants and people. You do realize
that it has a fairly large gay population? But it doesn't seem to be as
overtly gay as the Castro in San Francisco (at least to my eyes).
Staint Germain seems to be more "vanilla"- it is just a very nice place
to stay. I have stayed in both areas. I favor the Marais.

There are a lot of posters on this site who live in Paris- maybe some
of them will be able to give you a better idea. Just note that since
nobody really knows what you are looking for... it will be impossible
to say how one neighborhood will affect you versus another.

bob writes:

All things being equal, are we better off a couple blocks from the
heart of the marais (border of 3rd and 4th near place des vosges) or a
couple blocks from the heart of saint germain (border of 6th and 7th)?
or is that just a dumb question and it really doesn't matter?

The Marais and Bastille areas are trendy, the latter being especially
animated for nightlife, the former being well known for its huge
homosexual population and the orthodox Jewish quarter that ironically
exists right in the center of the Marais.

The border area between the 6th and 7th is at the west end of the Latin
Quarter, with lots of students, a younger crowd, more tourists, lots of
cafés and bars (somewhat more than the Marais, I'd say, but not as
trendy), more largely pedestrian areas (to the east), and a younger and
much more heterosexual crowd.

and has starbucks taken over paris or have the cool cafes and a
discriminating population resisted successfully?

Starbucks hasn't taken over because this is a city of eleven million
people, but they've very rapidly opened many stores, the first being
near the Opera Garnier. Now they have many others, at Odéon,
Montparnasse, La Défense, and other locations I've forgotten. Their
fare is very expensive but they attract a large wannabe local crowd and
a handful of Americans (fewer than you might expect). They aren't
endangering the standard Parisian cafés, but they may put home-grown
competitors like the Columbus Café out of business (which wouldn't
necessarily be a great loss).

One way to distinguish between a French-run chain and an American-run
chain is that the latter will be air-conditioned, and the former won't.
So the Columbus Cafés are often so hot that you can barely stand there
long enough to order something, whereas Starbucks cafés are likely to be
reasonably cool (allowing for the propensity of local management to be
too cheap to run the A/C).

Starbucks locks its emergency exits a lot, though, which is a safety
risk.

--
Transpose gmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

bob writes:

that's a good question... we don't really know... will either one
effect our time in paris in a "better" way over the other? i guess is
the question. but it's starting to sound like the answer is no...

If you have specific preferences for a type of neighborhood, see my
previous post ... but in general, if you don't know anything about
Paris, either area would be fine. I'd probably have a slight preference
for the Saint Germain area myself, but your tastes may be different.

Make sure your hotel is air-conditioned, or you risk not even being able
to sleep during your stay if you are here between May and September
inclusive.

--
Transpose gmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

On 25 Jun 2005 22:22:57 -0700, "Simone"
wrote:

The Marais has a little more "character" (in my opinon), there seems to
be more diversity in the shops, restaurants and people. You do realize
that it has a fairly large gay population? But it doesn't seem to be as
overtly gay as the Castro in San Francisco (at least to my eyes).
Staint Germain seems to be more "vanilla"- it is just a very nice place
to stay. I have stayed in both areas. I favor the Marais.

There are a lot of posters on this site who live in Paris- maybe some
of them will be able to give you a better idea. Just note that since
nobody really knows what you are looking for... it will be impossible
to say how one neighborhood will affect you versus another.

i live in the west end of vancouver which is a very gay neighbourhood
and i love it because it's more open minded, stylish and friendly... i
think you've answered my question very well without me asking a very
good one!! your discription makes it sound like the marais is an area
we would like, but all the maps of central paris have st germain right
in the middle. we like independent stores, cafes and restaurants over
big chains, but we like walking at night where there are people. we
definitely don't want typical tourist trappings (ttt?). i dunno. we
have two hotels chosen and my girlfriend can't make up her mind and
neither can i... eeny meeny... maybe that'll do it... ;-) thanks for
the reply!! that word "vanilla" just might have tipped the scales! ;-)


bob

On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 10:03:04 +0200, Mxsmanic
that's a good question... we don't really know... will either one
effect our time in paris in a "better" way over the other? i guess is
the question. but it's starting to sound like the answer is no...

If you have specific preferences for a type of neighborhood, see my
previous post ... but in general, if you don't know anything about
Paris, either area would be fine. I'd probably have a slight preference
for the Saint Germain area myself, but your tastes may be different.

Make sure your hotel is air-conditioned, or you risk not even being able
to sleep during your stay if you are here between May and September
inclusive.

both chosen have a/c... but now you've gone and tipped the scales back
the other way!! ;-) oh well, at least we're going to paris!! thanks
for the other post too!!


bob

Don't let it be your last question if you got others
The 2 locations are equally attractive, so yes : nevermind, choose the best
hotel you can find.
No starbucks hasnt taken over Paris and you've got plenty of other places

"bob" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
All things being equal, are we better off a couple blocks from the
heart of the marais (border of 3rd and 4th near place des vosges) or a
couple blocks from the heart of saint germain (border of 6th and 7th)?
or is that just a dumb question and it really doesn't matter?

and has starbucks taken over paris or have the cool cafes and a
discriminating population resisted successfully?

thanks again!!

bob

huge homosexual population???
Lol !!!!!!
About jews, much more in the 19th than in the Marais
re lol
Some parisian

"Mxsmanic" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
bob writes:

All things being equal, are we better off a couple blocks from the
heart of the marais (border of 3rd and 4th near place des vosges) or a
couple blocks from the heart of saint germain (border of 6th and 7th)?
or is that just a dumb question and it really doesn't matter?

The Marais and Bastille areas are trendy, the latter being especially
animated for nightlife, the former being well known for its huge
homosexual population and the orthodox Jewish quarter that ironically
exists right in the center of the Marais.

The border area between the 6th and 7th is at the west end of the Latin
Quarter, with lots of students, a younger crowd, more tourists, lots of
cafés and bars (somewhat more than the Marais, I'd say, but not as
trendy), more largely pedestrian areas (to the east), and a younger and
much more heterosexual crowd.

and has starbucks taken over paris or have the cool cafes and a
discriminating population resisted successfully?

Starbucks hasn't taken over because this is a city of eleven million
people, but they've very rapidly opened many stores, the first being
near the Opera Garnier. Now they have many others, at Odéon,
Montparnasse, La Défense, and other locations I've forgotten. Their
fare is very expensive but they attract a large wannabe local crowd and
a handful of Americans (fewer than you might expect). They aren't
endangering the standard Parisian cafés, but they may put home-grown
competitors like the Columbus Café out of business (which wouldn't
necessarily be a great loss).

One way to distinguish between a French-run chain and an American-run
chain is that the latter will be air-conditioned, and the former won't.
So the Columbus Cafés are often so hot that you can barely stand there
long enough to order something, whereas Starbucks cafés are likely to be
reasonably cool (allowing for the propensity of local management to be
too cheap to run the A/C).

Starbucks locks its emergency exits a lot, though, which is a safety
risk.

--
Transpose gmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.