Story by Mary Gallagher Photos Gallagher & Davis —
This was not my first trip to Paris but my companions and we needed to do everything, new for me and the classics for him, as fast as possible in our allotted 8 days.
Taking the Eurostar via the Chunnel from London, where we had just spent a week, was terrific and I learned a valuable lesson. In many circumstances last minute tickets prices are lower but not on the Eurostar, in fact our ticket prices doubled while I dallied thinking about which day to travel. So make a note to self: Buy Eurostar tickets as early as possible!
Our first two nights were spent not far from the Place de Republique and Pere LaChaise in a typical small Paris hotel featuring outstanding reviews, half a block from the Menilmontant station. I’ve stayed in this area before and loved it. Everything is very reasonable.
Paris
Then we moved to the other side of the City of Lights to experience more neighborhoods. We chose the Apart’hotel Citadines Tour Eiffel Paris and could not have been more pleased.
In the 15th Arrondissement, Apart’hotel Citadines Tour Eiffel Paris is located in the lively Motte-Picquet area. Loaded with shops, where I bought wonderful beer, snacks and breakfast items, cheese shops, cafés and traditional brasseries of every price range and our downfall PASTRY shops. This is the heart of Grenelle village at the junction of the Boulevard de Grenelle and the very pleasant Rue du Commerce. We literally stepped out the door to Metro lines 6, 8 and 10, so it’s easy access for exploring every part of Paris.
There was a weekly market that stretched for blocks under the elevated train trestle making US farmers markets look pretty pale in comparison.
Ready to take home! Paella at the market. Paris
I could shop here every week. Paella cooking in pans at least four feet across for takeaway and every other food item in the world, shoes and underwear. Really inexpensive souvenirs, This market had it all!
A few of the apartments at the Citadines have a view of the Eiffel Tower and although ours didn’t we had a pleasant view of gardens.
Our studio, suitable for one or two, offered designer style contemporary furniture and all modern comforts. We had a newer fully equipped kitchen with stove, microwave oven, dishwasher and fridge. Eating out for 16 days even in London and Paris gets to be a bit much so having our full kitchen allowed me to experiment with ingredients from local shops. A bit of a cost savings too. TV, complimentary WiFi and individual air conditioning – not always a feature of apartments in Paris were included.
Buffet breakfast, laundry, dry cleaning and a private car park are just some of the à la carte services available here.
In the lobby are complimentary coffee machines for fresh, make your own, espresso, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. All high quality and something we enjoyed every day. The front desk people were always accommodating and did a wonderful job in arranging our transport to the airport. We only speak English (shame on us) but that was not a problem here. Merci!
Oh and did I mention elevators? This is a modern property with multiple elevators and an excellent fire alarm system that was tested by a burning pan on someone’s stove spreading smoke while we were there. The well trained staff made sure all were safe.
One gem we did find and ate at several times was a wonderful tiny Turkish restaurant “The Olive Branch” in the Menilmontant neighborhood by our first hotel. Their outstanding Middle Eastern style food for two ran $10-$15 at dinner.
We are already planning another trip to Paris this fall and will return to this or one of the other Citadines properties there. As someone who stays in hotels everywhere more often than not let me say whether this is your first or fifth trip to this absolutely lovely destination, certainly consider staying at the Citadines Tour Eiffel Paris to make the experience even better.
Information:
Citadines Tour Eiffel Paris
132 Boulevard de Grenelle
75015 Paris, France
www.citadines.com/en/france/paris/tour_eiffel.html
^Global Reservations: +65 6272 7272
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