martinaa

has anyone used the above company. i am looking at an apartment on their site at 20 rue chapon and was wondering if anyone had any comments about the company generally or this apartment in particular. tks amrtina

Nikki

I rented that apartment with my husband and daughter a year ago. We enjoyed it very much, thought it was a great value, and had good experiences working with rentparis.com. I'd be happy to answer any questions about the apartment, the neighborhood, or rentparis.

laurelt

We had a good experience with them last summer. We didn't stay in that apt. but the one that we had was exactly the way it was represented on their website. We would rent from them again -- no problem.

greytop13

My wife and I rented apt. 17 in June of 2002 and had a wonderful experience. We're renting from them again this summer. Jean Pierre and Fabrice live in Paris and will greet you any time of day or night.

We found them to be honest and helpful.

martinaa

tks a lot. will just check out availability and book at this stage. nikki if you had any handy hints/recommendations would love to hear them. we are a fairly relaxed family mum dad and 14 yr old son just keen to be somewhere fairly central and get a little bit of a 'local' experience. martina

Nikki

Martina, I am sure you will enjoy that apartment. It is very accurately portrayed on the website. When we got there, we were a little put off by the entrance to the building, which is somewhat sketchy. There is a large door from the street to an inner entry that looks something like an indoor alley. There are some apartments which open directly onto this area, but our apartment was reached by an ancient spiral stone staircase. Once we got into the apartment, all our misgivings were gone. We felt very safe the whole time we stayed there.

This is a converted commercial space. The apartment has wonderful high ceilings and tall windows. The entire neighborhood is in flux. There are many Chinese wholesalers of leather goods on the street and on the surrounding streets. It is my understanding that the city is moving this wholesale area to a more outlying district.

There are some Chinese takeout places in the neighborhood because of the large Chinese business concentration. My 16 year old daughter appreciated having the familiar Chinese food to come home to if our dinners out crossed too many culinary boundaries.

Many people seem to be fixing up apartments in these old buildings, and this apartment is very nicely renovated. It is also very well stocked with dishes, linens, and guidebooks about Paris including restaurant guides. The washer/dryer is a bit challenging. Theoretically you can put a small amount of laundry in it, turn it on and leave for the day to find it has been washed and dried. If this doesn't work for you on the first try (it didn't for us), you can call Fabrice at Rentparis for help.

Not far from the apartment, on the rue Rambuteau, are many food shops and bakeries. Wonderful stuff.

Restaurants in the area that we enjoyed include:

Ambassade d'Auvergne, 22, rue du Grenier Saint-Lazare, tel. 01 42 72 31 32

Au Bascou, 38, rue Reaumur, tel. 01 42 72 69 25

and a little farther away but especially memorable:

Le Pamphlet, 38, rue Debelleyme, tel. 01 42 72 39 24

My husband enjoyed the Musee des Arts et Metiers, which is recently renovated and has exhibits about science and invention, I think. This is quite near the apartment but off the beaten tourist track. My daughter and I were at a fashion show while he was there, so I can't tell you first hand, but your son might enjoy it.

martinaa

nikki, tks so much for all the 'local' knowledge. good to know about the entrance area and the washer/dryer.
martina