Staying in Montmartre

I don%26#39;t know at this point if this was a good idea, but I have booked my stay in Paris into two different hotels. The first part of my trip I%26#39;ll be staying in the 6th. The second part of my trip I have reserved the Hotel Le Relais Montmartre at 6 rue Constance (in Montmartre of course).

After reading some reviews about the area of Montrmarte, I%26#39;m a little worried about staying in the area--or to be more precise, I%26#39;m wondering if my wife is going to be comforable staying in this neighborhood.

Should I not worry about this and keep my reservation or should I try to work out something different?

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Below is a recent posting by laphotographe (who is a TA Paris Destination Expert) when someone asked a similar question recently which may help answer yours?

ebabe

Posted on: 9:40 am, August 08, 2008

I have no problems with the 9th either. It is a %26quot;real neighborhood%26quot; which does not have much to attract tourists but has a lot for residents every day life. Stores are plentiful and strangely enough it is the arrondissement that has the most hotels.

Barbes Rochechouart is an area I am not fond of and also some of the streets going up to Montmartre are best left alone. Too many tourists and cheap stores.

The 9th has none of that. Rue Notre Dame de Lorette, rue Saint Goeorges and most street going up from back of Opera and department stores are fine.Rue des Martyrs is a great shopping street for fresh food.

Pigalle is not what it used to be. The hard stuff is not there anymore. You have families with kids living there which indicates that the neighborhood is definitely changing.

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What is the split of days between the 6th and Montmartre?

We usually stay in Paris for 8 days and one year I think it ould be fun to do a split like yours, but if I did this it would not be 4 and 4. Something like 6 and 2 since there are so many places to walk to from the 6th and not as many that I know of from Montmartre. I think the area would be OK.

hth

Pjk

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Thank you for your comments. The split is 4 days in the 6th and 3 in the 18th.

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6 rue Constance is a great area to stay in. You will really enjoy wandering about rue Lepic and rue Abbesses. So much to see and do. It%26#39;s a bit of a hike up the hill to Sacre Coeur, but the funicular and %26quot; Le Petit Train de Montmartre%26quot; helps if that is a problem. Montmartre, especially along rue Caulaincourt and rue Lamarck is very residential, restaurants, boulangeries and patisseries. There is more to Montmartre than Place du Tertre and Pigalle.

Montmartre has a very high density of tourists, they must be attracted to something:-)

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There is a self guided walking tour in the DK Eyewitness guide for Paris that starts at approx the metro stop near the Moulin Rouge and wanders up to Sacre Coeur. It takes you through some nice small plazas and points out interesting things along the route; the Batteaux lavoir, for example. It continues down the other side past the smallest vinyard and IIRC Le Boef sur Toit.

And we like Le Poulbot, 39 rue Lamarck. All of the seating is inside and there is no view, but the food is very good and priced reasonably. We had dinner for two, two appitizers, platters, desert and a bottle of wine for 54.00 e.

Pjk

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I will second Le Poulbot, and also recommend Le Basilic at 33 rue Lepic, which is a block and a half away from your hotel. There also a couple of bistros on rue des Abbesses that serve English or American breakfast, some of us love our oeufs in the morning.

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can someone fill me in on the %26quot;streets that are best left alone%26quot; when walking to/from Montmartre?

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Here%26#39;s a link to my very same question in the %26#39;Our Paris%26#39; forum. I had the same worries as you, was even going to ancel and stay elsewhere, but now I%26#39;m looking forward to it, 4 more weeks, can%26#39;t wait. Ive booked hotel regyns, according to TA reviews it%26#39;s ayokay!

HTH.

www.ourparisforum.com/index.cgi…

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mcal- There really are none day or night. Near the funicular there are some pickpockets and the women do the ring scam near Metro Anvers and Metro Pigalle, ignore them. Along the Boulevard De Clichy you will see the sex shops. If you don%26#39;t want to be hassled or tempted, stay to the wide boulevard down the middle of the street. It%26#39;s a beautiful park and you won%26#39;t be offended.

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I have no idea where your wife might or might not feel comfortable, however, Montmartre is my neighbourhood of choice in Paris. I most often travel to Paris without my husband and have always been absolutely comfortable in that area, as well as absolutely safe, no matter what the hour.