Paris Weekend Break

Finding and booking your hotel in Paris

Paris has more hotels (over 2,000) than any other capital city in Europe and they cover all price ranges and quality standards. Many of these hotels are independently owned and managed, but you will also find all of the better known hotel chains.

As a general rule, the closer a hotel is to one or more of the city's major tourist attractions the more expensive it will be.

Your budget will help determine the level and location of accommodation that you select and searching outside the main tourist center can throw up some excellent deals for anyone with limited resources.

For those with a less restricted budget, Paris can offer five star accommodation in some of the world's most exclusive hotels.

Most employees in the tourist industry speak English and this usually includes hotel reception staff.

Tips for finding the right hotel in Paris

Staying on the outskirts of the city centre generally offers the best hotel deals, but you can get some excellent bargains in the main area if you look around in advance. Avoiding a close location to a popular tourist haunt will also bring the price down.

The Metro travel system (similar to the London and New York underground) means that your hotel will never be far from all of the city's top tourist spots, so try to find a hotel within easy walking distance of a station (there are 14 different lines and dozens of stations).

Start looking for your accommodation as soon as you decide to take a weekend break in Paris. Deals are always available, but the more time you have to search, the more options you will have. Always remember that Paris is the most popular city break destination in the world and hotels rooms are always at a premium for last minute bookers.

See our Paris Weekend Break "tips list" (below) to find out how to get the best possible deals at the most affordable prices.

For the top hotel deals in Paris, always check out the internet for short stay packages and the most up to date offers and look at booking reservation companies and last minute booking specialists. These hotel reservation companies will give you access to nearly all of the hotels in Paris and the surrounding area. And remember that Paris has several hundred hotels, so every price and location range is covered.

How to select your hotel in Paris

• There are literally hundreds of different hotels in Paris and most of these hotels use online booking agents to facilitate and economise on the hotel room reservation process. This means that -
  
  • You can select from a vast number of hotels using just one search system on a single website and
  • By using multiple booking companies you can cross check the prices of the same hotels through different online reservation companies. In other words, you really can get the best price available and simply by spending a few minutes on the internet.

• You can of course phone hotels directly, but in most cases the price is higher (this is because they have to manually enter the booking into their reservation company's system).
• If you want accommodation on a budget (and you are on a hotel reservation website) look for a link or button saying something like, Special offers or Last minute deals, most hotel websites have these offers and they "can" offer significant savings.
• When you have narrowed down your search to 2 or 3 hotels, make sure that you check out their details thoroughly.
  
  
  • Do they have close access to a Metro station
  
  
  • Are they close to dinning, shopping or night time entertainment facilities
  
  
  • Are they easy to reach from the airport, ferry port or rail connection you will be using
  
  
  • Do they have the star rating you are after.

• Finally, check your "book-in" and "book-out" times and find out if the hotel offers on site secure luggage storage for any time you spend in Paris once you have checked out of your room on your last day.

For something a little bit different and possibly a little bit lavish, you could enjoy a Spa day in Paris at one of the city's many hotels. Spas can offer everything from saunas to manicures and massage treatments and are ideal for a relaxing day, or when there is inclement weather.

For some hotel booking tips, see this hotel booking page.