THE traditional British bed and breakfast has taken root in Paris — a city whose inhabitants were once considered too bad-tempered to throw open their doors to strangers.
With the Paris Council encouraging residents to shed their inhibitions and develop the city’s tourist market, the number of chambres d’hôtes is estimated to have doubled in the past year to 500.
“It has always been marginal here, but people are becoming accustomed to the idea and we think it will continue to grow,” said Chantal Goldstein, chairman of Parisiens Associés, an association that aims to promote upmarket bed and breakfast accommodation.
She has persuaded the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, to launch a quality certificate for bed and breakfast — Hôtes Qualité Paris — and a publicity campaign to encourage Parisians to make their spare rooms available.
“Parisians had a bad reputation for being stressed and angry and we wanted to change that,” she said. “We wanted tourists to see what Parisians are really like and what an extraordinary city this is.”
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The Hôtes Qualité Paris charter requires that owners speak some English, provide a bedroom of at least 10 sq m, change bed linen once every four days and offer a breakfast of fresh bread, jam and butter. Croissants and pains au chocolat are optional.
Prices vary between 50 euros (£34) and 200 euros (£135) a night for two, with an average of 80 euros (£54).
Hôtes Qualité Paris: www.hqp.fr Bed and breakfast networks in Paris: www.babfrance.fr www.bed-and-breakfast-in-paris.com.