hostel or inexpensive paris recommendations??

Hi, Sarah. We’ve stayed at Hotel de la Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter and the location is absolutely perfect. It is 60 euros a night and has a 5 euro breakfast that is a bit better than the typical "continental" breakfast. They have 24 hour desk service; most seemed to speak English if that’s a concern; you’ll have a private bath; the place is very clean and the area is not only very safe, but it is within walking distance of most of the major tourist sites. It is also an easy walk to two or three Metro stations and two RER stations although I’ve been told the St. Michel RER is closed for the summer. They are doing renovations and I don’t know when it will reopen. The Cluny and Luxembourg are probably closer anyway.

You can find the hotel by clicking on the blue and red visitfrance.travel above. This will take you to the home page. Scroll over to the right and find the hotel search box. Scroll down to the Latin Quarter and then click on the Search button. (You can also type Sorbonne into the search window at the top left of your screen.) We book through France.com all the time and have never had any problems with it.

If you don’t want to pay 60 euros (which is a very good price for Paris), you can also click on the blue and red visitfrance.travel at the top of this page to go to the Home Page. Once there, again scroll right and you will see a list of words, i.e. Hostels, Airfares, Rail Travel and others. Click on the top one which is Hostels. This takes you to a selection of hostels and very inexpensive hotels. We haven’t used any of these so I can’t personally recommend them, but it will give you an idea of what is available and the cost. Then you can go to a site like Virtual Tourist or Trip Advisor and get reviews to see if you want to try a hostel. I’ve seen some highly recommended on other forums so it might be worth a try. Just be sure you are in an area close to a Metro and that should be pretty easy.

Good luck.

My son(an adult) and I would like to spend some time in France, the problem is that we don’t have the money. Every penny we have goes to paying the bills. Maybe there is some way he could work there while there. Unfortunetaly I can’t work because of a disability. I am a writer but it’s hard to get published.

You don’t say where you are from, but if you’re from the USA, it is very difficult to get work in France. The EU has pretty strict rules about foreign workers. The best you could hope for is under the table work like waitressing that won’t pay well. There is also harvest work but it’s really tough work and locals are hired first.

You might want to try http://www.lonelyplanet.com and click on the Thorn Tree Forum to see if anyone there can help you.

I would like to stay in France for about 6 months from approximately November 1st 2008 until May 1st 2009 on a faily limited budget

I would like to stay in a one bedroom apartment with som cooking facilities, a shower and heating !!! It would need to be to the centre of a smallish town preferably in the Dordogne, Burgundy or South.

My aim is to learn French and, if possible, to enjoy getting to know as much as possible about a local community, the local geography and the local culture.

Have you any suggestions?

Regards Patrick

SalB

Hi Patrick. You don't say what your citizenship is but if you are not a member of the EU, you are limited in the time you can spend in France. France is part of an international treaty called the Schengen Agreement (Treaty) and the USA is not a signatory. If you are a US citizen, you may only spend 90 days (3 months) within the Schengen territories. At that point you are required to leave the Schengen area for a full 90 days (another 3 months) before you are allowed to return to the Schengen area. You can stay longer but you will need a visa for that and will have to apply to your nearest consulate. You must have the visa BEFORE you leave the US.

If you are not a US citizen,m you will need to check whether your country is a Schengen country or not. You can get much of the information you need at http://www.schengenvisa.cc/    or at  http://www.eurovisa.info/SchengenCountries.htm

You might consider 3 months in France instead of 6 months if you don't want to apply for a visa. For inexpensive housing, check http://www.gites-de-visitfrance.travel/gites/uk/rural_gites

This is Gites de France and they rent everything from in-town apartments to  houses out in the country. If you are a long-term renter, you can often negotiate excellent rates, especially out of tourist season. Don't be afraid to ask about special long-term rates. We've gotten some great bargains that way. Gites de France is regulated by the French government so they are very reliable. (You may have to pay a bit higher rate during the Christmas holiday season but if you are staying for 3 months, make a point of it and see if they will relent on "high" season.) The rest of your time should be low season nearly anyplace.

In Burgundy, Beaune is a favorite town. It's small enough to get around easily but large enough to have things to do. You didn't mention the Loire valley but may I suggest that they are rumored to have the "purest" French in the country. At least anyone from the Loire will tell you that. 8^)

Tours is a large university city in the Loire and very centrally located. Nearby are many lovely villages. We spent a month recently in Montrichard and loved it. Azay-le-Rideau is small and very nice with enough shopping for your needs and reasonably priced. Check the Gites-de-France web site for both areas to see what you find and if you want to ask about any of the places, post again here.

Good luck.

I would like to know what bridge in Paris to stand on and where so I can get the same shot with the Eifel tower in the background that was in “Something’s Gotta Give” with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. It’s going to be our Anniversary picture. Thanks,
Jo

SalB

Don't know why I can't answer the Visa question by clicking on Reply. It tells me the question no longer exists . . . but there it is!

At any rate, US citizens do not need a visa to visit France for up to 90 days in any six-month period. If you are just going over from the UK for a few days, you do not need a visa, just your passports and you may not be asked for those.

Did you find out what bridge they were on? Susan