HI - Paris - Jules Ferry Hostel

Not far from Republic station, Auberge Jeunesse Jules Ferry is a cheaper hostel than others on offer in Paris. Sadly it doesn't offer online bookings. But thankfully, both times we have used this hostel, a mid-afternoon walk in has secured a room (around five p.m. it still has vacancies). The directions are best followed for Absolute Hotel, also on this website and then talk a left turn at Rue de Jules Ferry. You will be able to see the HI sign from the corner.

Reception staff speak English, French, and Spanish generally and are, like most French, most helpful when spoken to in French. Otherwise, you can book a night at a time, and renew before midnight to secure the next day. On the ground level, you have a reception desk, some wooden benches and some old art from the era gone by of trains, a small kitchen (mainly for breakfast), but there is an upright class fridge so you can store your groceries. Breakfast is included but it strictly rationed by the French lady. One mini bread roll, butter and jam, one cup of juice (heavily sweetened) and a hot drink, which are pretty good -- especially the HC.

Then there are the rooms, from one flight to five flights up (they are steep). But there is a locked lift for your luggage, so if you ask nicely, you can see your life disappear weightlessly. So there is a range of room sizes. Four and six beds do not have a bathroom included, and you share it with four other rooms. There are two showers and two toliets per floor, and one toilet is indicated female. The bathrooms have aged, and flip flops/thongs make it more managable.

You get one sheet and a woolen blanket, which can be insufficient in early spring when the heating has been turned off, or oppressively hot if the heating has been turned on after a cold spell at the beginning of summer. Either way, rooms have french doors opening to the street, and whilst noisy, they do a lot to increase the ventilation. Rooms have a sink in them, with mirror. There are also double rooms available with a bathroom.

As to the general atmosphere, it isn't the biggest party hotel, but the staff will happily, and drunkenly, point you to night clubs and even advise you that what you're wearing isn't up to scratch. But generally, unless you meet someone nice in your room, you are likely to be a little lonely on the social front.

— Avis exclusif de Hostelz.com
June 2006