Hotel + Garden of Versaille

I was wondering if anyone has stayed at the Ermitage hotel near the Sacrecoeur?

http://www.ermitagesacrecoeur.fr/

I am looking for a budget hotel in the Montmarte area.

Another question. I was thinking of hiring a car to drive to Garden of Versaille for a day trip. Is it better to do this than go on a tourist bus? We like the idea of doing our own thing. Saying that, where is the best place to get a hire car from. I was thinking that it might be hard to get out of the city. Last time we drove into the city we dropped our car at the airport.

Any advice is welcome!

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LondonHBunny, that hotel is very well known as a well priced hotel with charm. It has had very good reviews in guide books since long before TA started publishing reviews and its TA reviews are also positive. The only negative for me is the location means you will need to take the metro to most sights but that is not much of a problem.

Versailles can be reached by metro and RER line C (the Versailles trains have the word %26quot;VICK%26quot; on them) and you would not want a car just for that trip. It is a bit of a fiddle getting to RER C from Line 12. Take Line 12 to Solferino Metro then there is a connecting tunnel to the RER C at Musee d%26#39;Orsay

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Hey thanks heaps for that. This is actually my 3rd trip to Paris so I wont be too worried about not being able to walk to a lot of the sights. You seem to know a lot about Paris. What kind of places can you recommend for getting more into the culture and night life.

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Hi LondonHBunny

I am a bit boring when it comes to recommending sights apart from the obvious like Sainte Chapelle and L%26#39;Orangerie. My trips to Museums are of the %26quot;beep beep%26quot; Roadrunner variety. I rarely go out at night once I get back from sightseeing except for dinner and then never eat in Michelin star restaurants.

I mostly stay in hotels or apartments close to the Seine in either the Marais or the 5th and haunt food markets and Brocantes when they are around. My favourite area to stay in an apartment is around Place Maubert in the 5th, although I had a nice stay in one near Pere Lachaise for the first week of my last visit.

I adore BHV and can browse there for hours to improve amenities when I am staying in an apartment and I love shopping for that evening%26#39;s meal. I bought my nephew two %26quot;faux studded leather%26quot; cardboard stools last trip as he loves %26quot;cardboard engineering%26quot; and he uses them as bedside tables.

I like to wander around the streets and visit areas I do not know well like Belleville in the day time. I always buy either %26quot;Navigo%26quot; or Mobilis passes and hop on and off buses and trains when it suits me without wondering if I could have saved money buying a carnet and being selective about travel. I have been to Paris many times since 1990 and I just like to %26quot;be there%26quot;.

One recommendation if you have not been there is the Musee des Arts et Metiers in the 3rd, especially if you are lucky enough to be able to get into the Theatre des Automates - I have never been able to see it due to its not being on or being booked out - sigh - but I like the museum. I like the upper part of the 3rd arrondissement around rue de Bretagne and the pretty park in Square du Temple. There are interesting discount shops and Monoprix nearby on rue du Temple.

It is hard to get bored in Paris even if you don%26#39;t go to the major tourist sights.