Budget recommendations in Paris

For budget travelers to PARIS, we have some recommendations from a wonderful 4-day visit at the end of April ’07.

• Hôtel de Nevers (53 rue de Malte; phone +47 00 56 18, fax +43 57 77 39, www.hoteldenevers.com) is just off Place de la République, about equidistant between Métro stops République and Oberkampf.

A very clean, one-star, family-run hotel with a helpful front desk staff. Elevator. We had a bright room with a double bed, table and chairs, cupboard, room for our suitcases, and a small private bath with shower for €53 ($80) per night. The breakfast of croissant, French bread, butter, jelly and all the fruit juice and coffee desired cost €5 ($7.60).

If you have allergies, be aware that this hotel has three cats, although we saw only one during our stay.

The location is great for dining out reasonably. And if you cross boulevard Richard Lenoir on Oberkampf going east, you’ll find the neighborhood market street with artisan cheese and bakery shops. We stocked up on these for on-the-go lunches.

• We had dinner at Léon de Bru­xelles (8 Place République; phone +33 1 43 38 28 69, www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr), a chain restaurant with locations throughout Paris. Two big pots of mussels in our choice of broth plus lots of good bread cost €25 ($38).

• On our last night, we went around the corner from our hotel to Chez Imogène (25 rue Jean Pierre Timbaud), a Breton crêperie, where we each had three courses of stuffed crepes and sides and paid €40 ($60) for the two of us.

• Our outstanding restaurant splurge (but still a great buy) was L’Ambassade d’Auvergne (22 rue du Grenier-St. Lazare; phone +33 1 42 72 31 22, www.ambassade-auvergen. com) — in the 3rd arrondissement, Métro stop Rambuteau. This experience was marked by elegance and excellent service.

We enjoyed and shared as an appetizer a huge lentil dish of the Auvergne that we’re still trying to duplicate at home, then one plate of the Auvergne sausage and cabbage and another of a delicious steak, both served with the unique mashed potatoes of the region, made with a fresh farmer’s cheese that gives them stretchiness up to three feet high (beautifully demonstrated for each table by the waiter). Of course, none of us could duplicate his skill!

With a glass of wine each, all of this cost us €55.

CORY PEPOY

Holland, MI