16th area?

Hi there you everyone.Please help me chose a hotel.3 choices.1-Hotel Trocadero La tour.2- Hotel Etoile Trocadero.Both located in the 16th. 3- Something in the Latin quarter.2 adults and 2 teens.Looking for convience and also evening nightlife.Family style.What is in the Latin quarter that so many people seem to like for kids?Is the 16th boring?Please help.We are going in less than 30 days.

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The 16th is just a bit off the beaten path...beaten path referring to the main areas you will be exploring: Latin Quarter, St. Germain, Islands, Marais, Beaubourg. It is near the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysees. It tends to be pricier than other areas as well, and more residential.

The Latin Quarter is well located and very lively, I think that%26#39;s why people like it so much. It%26#39;s very centrally located in Paris and you can walk to just about everything. ANd, it%26#39;s less expensive than the 16th.

Les

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The 16th is very upscale, beautiful, bourgeois, quiet, and, yes, if you ask me, boring. It%26#39;s as if people there were still living under the 4th Republic, it%26#39;s a kind of time warp from the 50s. 0 night life of course, except for tacky clubs next to Etoile, few supermarkets, less variety in restaurants than in a %26quot;normal%26quot; arrondissement. Teens will feel they are spending a vacation at their grandparents%26#39;. Having said that I am not crazy about the 5th either, but it%26#39;s better than the 16th.

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Bob what area would you suggest?

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Bastille, Marais, Montorgueuil, République, Villiers, Gobelins...

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Thanks for your help.I check the area out.

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Bob:

In mid-June, we will be staying near Gobelins at Citadines Place d%26#39;Italie for 8 days. Any recommendations for eating, shopping, weird stuff in that area? (We have a 13yo in tow who has already seen the usual stuff.) Thanks.

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L%26#39;avant-goût, on 26 rue Bobillot, is arguably one of the best restaurants in the 13e, but still reasonable (€ 31 menu, more à la carte of course). Neo bistro type.

L%26#39;Ourcine is the Gobelins bistro every body talks about. 92 rue Broca.

On sunny days, le Jardin des Pâtes is a delight with its terrace on bd Arago (Nr 33). As the name implies, pasta reigns supreme there, but the upscale and/or organic type.

I love Le Bouche à Oreille, opposite the wonderful 20s Butte aux Cailles swimming pool (open air, though crowded, and with real spring water! ). It%26#39;s basic, but good and dirt cheap (€11 lunch menu).

To see in your area: the Gobelins tapestry factory, known since Louis XIV; a surprising little château in the heart of Paris (château de la Reine-Blanche), two remainders of pre-Haussman Paris with charming little houses: cité fleurie (65 bd Arago), cité verte (147 rue Léon Maurice Nordmann), unfortunately both are private alleys and you%26#39;ll have to just gaze through the gate. The Butte aux Cailles neighborhood, south of place d%26#39;Italie, is as quaint, even quainter, than Montmartre, but totally ignored by tourists. It%26#39;s been heavily taken over by bobos lately, but it%26#39;s still cute and full of nice restaurants. I love bd Arago with its chestnut trees and one of the most beautiful movie theaters in Paris, L%26#39;Escurial, a 1930s gem with a huge screen and a smaller one. Movies are in VO, so you might try it once. A few blocks down the boulevard is La Santé, the only prison inside Paris, which means you%26#39;ll be extra safe with plenty of police around. Interesting to witness the sorry state of French prisons recently highlighted by a European report.

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Bob:

Thanks a million for the suggestions; they%26#39;re great. This neighborhood seems to get short-shrift at least with respect to tourist %26quot;gotta do%26#39;s,%26quot; but it sounds pretty fascinating. Across the Seine is the Village Bercy worth it, or is it another yuppie mall?

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Village Bercy is interesting and nice, but nothing to write home about. Actually, it is less yuppie than banlieue (it%26#39;s at the end of an autoroute, and there is ample parking space). It%26#39;s worth it to see the gardens and the new cinamathèque - formerly the American cultural center, a great Gehry building.

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Bob, thanks as usual.