For our stay in Paris, I decided on the Courtyard by Marriott across the street from Gare de Lyon, one of the main train stations in Paris. It was a highly-rated four-star hotel in a convenient place. I figured for my wife’s first stay overseas in Europe, she may prefer something familiar, like an American hotel chain — she likes modern buildings.

This American approach might be disappointing to some. Shouldn’t we pick a quaint old building in Marais or the Latin Quarter, someplace with more character? We stayed in Paris twice, separated by a three-day excursion to Switzerland. I picked a more “Parisian” location for our second hotel. More on that later.

Our Marriott hotel room was as expected, modern, bright, and cheerful. The front desk staff spoke impeccable English and other than being surrounded by spectacular architecture, we felt right at home.

We paid extra for a higher floor with a view. Something that I’ll show in tomorrow’s post.

The bathroom felt the most European — smaller than American versions but more precise and stylish. There was no bathtub, but the shower-only configuration worked for us. The smaller room is best for one person at a time usage.

We had a full-size American king bed, which is not always the case for other king-size beds in Paris. The room worked well. I used the small round table in the corner for photography gear, and we even had one takeout dinner there.

The neighborhood could have been more quaint in Paris but still had good cafes, and other convinces like a metro stop nearby. Our train to Switzerland boarded at the big station across the street, so rolling our luggage there was easy.

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