Agapanthus

Has anyone stayed in the Marais? Looking at 2 bedroom apartment on rue du Colisee, 8th, for $400 per night. I think it's a bit expensive. Not sure of locaton.

All comments welcome.

Dukey1

No lillies of the nile around but a great location to stay in (the Marais in general, that is) IMO

cw

The Rue du Colisee is in the 8th arrondisement, as you indicate. It is not in the Marais. I don't know the street, but in general it's an expensive area. $400 a night is somewhat high but it is two bedrooms and it all depends on the apartment.

adrienne

The Marais is a great area but the apartment you're looking at in the 8th is not in the Marais.

kerouac

If cost is an issue, you can pay 75% less in some of the higher numbered arrondissements. I do not understand this obsession with staying in the center at any cost.

When I was a kid, we stayed with a great aunt in the suburbs and took the commuter train into Saint Lazare every day -- actually twice a day because we were expected for lunch. It was not at all a problem, but when I read what a lot of the people write here, it seems to be a fate worse than death if you are not in walking distance of the Louvre or Notre Dame.

Actually, thank god for you people, because you allow the outlying districts to remain affordable while you overpay for an inferior experience. (And I say this because the daily market in Courbevoie or many other suburban towns is tens times better than the Richard Lenoir or rue de Buci markets.)

PalenQ

Maris - a gay mecca in Paris - at nigh seems more same sex couples than mixed - only adds to charm IMO - narrow streets in about the only part of Paris not bulldozed by Baron Haussmann in 1900s and turned into broad thoroughfares - close to many sites and great transporation, etc. Also a center of Jewish life - so a varied neighborhood unique for Paris IMO.

so-called working class are formerly - $400/night? Wow you could stay at the ritz for that perhaps!

Christina

I don't think where people choose to live in a big city is the same as where tourists may want to stay, and residents and tourists don't really have the same interests or agendas. I live in a convenient close-in suburb of Wash DC but would never recommend tourists hang around my town or stay here instead of the center of DC.

kerouac

Even if they are on a budget, Christina?

Dukey1

As a gay person I think the "gay mecca" thing about the Marais may be just a bit over-hyped. There are plenty of straight people in that section of the city as well.

Christina

oh, I don't think $400 is expensive for a really nice 2 BR apt in that area--that is only about 300 euro, you know.

That would be an okay location, it is near St Philippe du Roule metro, I guess.

Here's a 2 BR near the Louvre that is over $500 a day, for example (and $600 in some time periods). http://www.vrbo.com/244739

Here's a 2 BR on Ile St Louis that is $400 a day in low period http://www.franceforrent.com/boutarel/index.shtml

You can also check parisperfect.com and http://www.guestapartment.com/
to make some comparisons. I think 2 BRs on the latter start around 400 euro and go up.

BUt people can give better opinions on cost and location if you give a link and say where it is.

d_claude_bear

You can bunk down most anywhere inside the peripheral highway (the numbered arrondissements) and get around easily by metro or bus if your aim is to venture forth and hit several main attractions each day. If you want hang out and experience cafe/boulangerie life, pick a neighborhood/street with lots of those establishments nearby. You really can't go wrong.

StCirq

I spend a fair amount of time in the Marais when I'm in Paris, and I don't notice a huge gay presence, either. It's much more obvious where I live in DC. anyway, it doesn't matter to me, but there's a far more pronounced Jewish presence, which I love, because the old synagogues are fascinating, and you get really interesting jewish memorabilia in the shops. But i'm not sure I'd pay $400 a night for an apartment there.

MelJ

We were in a studio on rue du Colisee for ten nights and arrived home Thursday (timing, right?) It was our first time staying in the 8th and we chose it to be near the Champs for the end of the Tour de France.

I had always thought of this area as more business than I would like but we LOVED rue du Colisee! We were on the block between Franklin Roosevelt and rue Fauburg St. Honore. Three blocks off the Champs. Good cafes in the immediate area, a Franprix a few blocks down Roosevelt and the Franklin Roosevelt metro stop is right at the end of the street on the corner of Colisee and Champs Elysee. Good metro for doing the tourist shuffle, as it's line 1, but you will make a lot of changes to go north or south. And avoiding the dreaded Chatalet Metro stop when making changes will take real creativity.

Bottom line? If it's your first time in Paris I would choose the Marais for ease of walking to the sites first-timers wish to see (and I love that area). But the rue du Colisee is a nice street, as well.