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My wife and I are planning a trip to Paris in the early Fall of 2012 or spring of 2013. I was last there as a student 35 years ago. We are planning 4 days in Paris and then taking the train to spend 3 days in Caen where I went to school.
1. Can anyone recommend a couple of small hotels that are reasonably priced in any of the arondissments or are within a couple of blocks of the metro?
2. Are there some travel magazines or websites that cater to travellers like me who want to avoid the chain places and are looking for inexpensive ways to travel. I hope to be able to use my US Air FF miles for at least one ticket.
3. Are there any special deals on the French railroad (SNCF) that I should know about.

Thanks for any updates!

I'd recommend these 2 sites:


http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php

http://www.slowtrav.com/france/paris/py_paris_tips.htm

We stayed at Hotel Relais Bosquet which is in the seventh arrondissement. It was such a delightful, cheery place. The entire staff was wonderful and they served a great breakfast each morning. Down the block is Rue Cler, with open air market stores that contain fruit, vegetables, chocolates, cheeses, meats, etc. Next to the hotel, the bakery gave off such delightful smells as the bread and pastries baked. (www.relaisbosquet.com). We were able to walk up the block to the Metro station-Ecole Militaire. The receptionist at the hotel led us to the local buses which took us everywhere we needed to go. We found this area to be the perfect spot for us, we felt like we were right at home in a true neighborhood. There are several other hotels nearby, also. Check out Hotel du Cadran or Hotel Champ de Mars or Grand Hotel Leveque.

Great recommendations. Thanks. I'll check them out. I remember the 7th Arrondissment, but I'm fuzzy on why. I did so many things back then.

We got the seven day rail pass at the first metro station. It is primarly for locals as it runs from Sunday to Sunday. We got there on a Sunday so it worked well for our week stay. It was good to Versailles as well. It will not get you to Caen.

I would not recommend our hotel, but it was close to the Metro.

For transfers I would recommend you to hire a car with driver in advance, it's more comfortable than public transport and cheaper than taxi. We used the site www.1cares.com for booking all our trips around Paris(Disneyland, Versailles, Fontainebleau). The airport transfer at minivan for our family of 6 per. was 47Eu.

Make sure that you book your train tickets on line, directly with the SNCF -French Railways. We paid 10 euros each for Paris - Rouen tickets. I was unable to get these prices on the Raii Europe website. You will have to navigate the site in French, which should not be a problem for you.

The French railways website is www.voyages-sncf.com. If you book in advance, you can travel from Paris to Caen for 15 euros. You can then pick up a rental car in Caen, if you want to visit the Normandy beaches, or the Bayeux tapestry.

Thanks for your insights and guidance. We are now committed to spending 4 days in Paris, 2 days in Caen, then travelling by train to Frankfurt and nearby Hanau where I was stationed in the Army 1972-75. Depending on airfare combinations, we will return to JFK either via Frankfurt oo take the train back to Paris for out flight home.

Does anyone have an idea of the cost of train travel between Paris & Frankfurt or special/hidden deals that may not show up on the SNCF website?