Pun intended but not true. This is not a hostile reflection, I promise. My only complaint is in regards to internet access- un petit probleme in an otherwise great place.
I stayed for 6 nights at the Bureau des Voyages de la Jeunesse (BVJ) Louvre hostel in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. It’s right next to the Louvre (duh) and the metro and it’s not too hidden, but I recommend printing a map anyway from our wonderful friend and neighbor, google, before wandering around with all your luggage for 20 minutes.
I reserved in advance on the BVJ website for 3 nights in a shared room, which is the cheapest option at 30€. I wound up in a room with three bunk beds and plenty of space on the 1st floor (which in America would be the 2nd). I was lucky- a nice room immediately next to the bathroom with only one flight of stairs. I met some nice girls, too. I even went out with two of them spontaneously one night for a stroll around the Seine. It was marvelous. My roommates rotated but were always girls (policy) and at times I could access the wifi signal from my own bed.
This brings us conveniently to the internet issue. My first day I saw two large internet machines- they were not computers, they were internet machines- in the luggage room. I wanted to access facebook to tell everyone quickly that I was alive and in Paris, so I deposited 0.50€ for five minutes of time. The machine was so slow and my account asked so many security questions that the moment my newsfeed loaded the time ran out. I didn’t try again. The next few days I hauled my laptop to a mcdonald’s about ten minutes away and used hours of their wifi to find apartments. I soon grew tired of the late-night walking and conveniently noticed the wifi sign offering wifi access cards: 2€ for 3 hours and 3€ for 5 hours. The sleepy attendant told me they were out of the 5-hour cards so I was stuck with the 3, but it was better than nothing.
Long story short, BVJ Louvre has pretty good wifi but it costs money and only works reliably in the lobby. You can find free wifi elsewhere (mcdonalds, starbucks, and select other cafes) but you might not want to be walking around late at night in an unfamiliar place- I was fine but it depends on the person. Just don’t use the internet machine.
You’ve got to have your own towel and soap… I think that’s standard for every hostel ever. They wash the sheets after each visitor, but I heard they only wash the blankets for every other visitor (half as often). Oh. Breakfast! They provide free breakfast from 7 to 9 every day. After a few days there I figured out the perfect combo- mix plain yogurt with the fruit cup and the granola-lookin cereal. Delish. Also, don’t be weirded out by the bowls of coffee/ hot chocolate. I didn’t understand it and avoided it for my first two days! What a mistake. It’s just a bowl instead of a mug. Twice as much drink! Yay! Finally, check out time is 9:30. Check in time is 2:30pm. If you want to extend for more nights you have to do so at the front desk before 9am. Also there is a shelf of free books in probably 7 different languages in the lobby. Two thumbs up.
Post a Comment