Having twice rented apartments in Paris, I though our experiences may be helpful for others trying to decide where to stay. Both times we needed accommodation for 2 of us – a reasonably fit couple of mid 60s age.

Our first apartment was in 6th arr, in a quiet street behind St Germain des Pres Church. There was a large door opening to the street, then our accommodation was at the back of a courtyard and up 1 1/2 flights of stairs. This was extremely quiet for such a central location. It was a studio of quite small proportions, but was sufficient for us. For me a comfortable bed was important, so we chose this rather than an apartment with a fold out sofa bed, as some of those don’t provide a lot of support under the mattress. The only chairs were two metal frame seats at the tiny dining table, so no relaxing seating at all. For a first-time stay in Paris, the 6th is an ideal location – plenty of atmosphere, shops, restaurants, and cafes within easy walking distance.

Our second was in 1st arr, on a busy street across from the Louvre. This apartment was on level 4, in a building with elevator. The windows of the apartment overlooked the road, and the noise level at night was so loud that we needed to sleep with the double glazed windows closed. The Vesper bikes and police sirens were overwhelming!

Having an elevator in the building didn’t remove the need to climb stairs – out of our 7 days there, the elevator was out of action for 4 of them. Climbing 82 stairs at least twice a day was not what I had bargained on! The property manager was aware of this problem when we checked in, and immediately offered a discount on the rental, so this helped somewhat. According to him, elevators in old buildings break down frequently. When selecting an apartment, this eventuality hadn’t crossed my mind; for us it was only an inconvenience, but for anyone unable to cope with stairs, it would have been a disaster. The apartment had a combined washing machine / dryer, and this was a real bonus. It was described as a 1 bedroom apartment – there was a sliding door between the living and bedrooms, but nothing to block off the kitchen, so really kitchen and bedroom were in the one space. This wasn’t a problem for us, just a funny layout. Having the extra space (rather than the studio size) made for much more comfort – a lounge to relax on after all the pavement pounding was excellent.
Once again, shopping and dining was very convenient.

Both apartments were very close to Metro stations – we didn’t always need to use trains, but at the end of a long day out it was very convenient to get ‘home’ quickly and easily.

Happy travels, Di