lexielaww

Good day all!

I am having a hard time deciding where to book an apartment for our stay in May 2018. Our choices are near to each other on the Left Bank. One is located on Rue Monge, very near the open market, and the other one is one Rue St. Jacques very near to Shakespeare and Co. We are a high energy couple in our 40's. Could you give me pros and cons of each? Both are almost the exact same price for 8 days. I am interested in knowing about each neighborhood. Thanks a million!

Christina

People really obsess about this thing too much IMO. Those neighborhoods aren't that far apart.

I'd say cons of the second are that it is in a very highly congested area with tourists and souvenir shops and traffic. There also isn't a large supermarket around there. Pros I suppose are that you can walk to some tourist attractions and it would be close to an RER and metro stop. I really really dislike that exact location, though, if it's really on rue St Jacques near the Seine.

Rue Monge sort of seems like a canyon a bit in that area to me. It's hard to describe what I mean, just that it isn't a cozy neighborhood street and I don't think there are very many sidewalk cafes and restaurants right on it, but you can find some on surrounding streets, of course. Pros are more a regular area and less tourist crowds. Cons are less convenient transportation, I guess, you can only go one direction basically (that one metro stop and the bus line that goes up and down it also), but at least you are near a metro stop.

I'd pick the one on rue Monge probably, but many first-time tourists would prefer the first and you might like it, also, more.

TPAYT

I’d choose Rue St. Jacques. We tend to spend a lot of time near The Seine. After many stays in different parts of the city we now like to stay on Ile St. Louis.
Near the river you are close to walk to many sites. Of course, the Metro will be convenient to wherever yo stay.

There is something about walking near The Seine later at night that draws us on every trip.

Rue Monge area is just a bit off the beaten path for us. We have walked in that area many times exploring the market or to dinner. It’s nice, but just not out taste.

I’m sure other FODORITES will have different opinions, this is just from one person that loves Paris.

Michael

Shakespeare and Co. is close enough to the Place Maubert which also has a open market, which means that it also has local stores for when the market is not in operation.

Kathie

I agree the neighborhood isn't as big a deal as many people make it out to be. But do the apartments you are looking at have a registration number listed on the rental site? If, not they are illegal rentals.

Envierges

To continue on the tails of Kathie's response. The process of registering apartments is continuing and will be fully en place by Dec 1st. If you look after that date and the apartment listing does not show a registration number it is an illegal rental. This can result in the prompt cancellation of your rental leaving you without housing in Paris.

kerouac

A high energy couple has absolutely no reason to stay in Old Tourist Land (5th and 6th arrondissements). Leave those areas to the ladies with freeze-dried blue hair and the arthritic gentlemen with their baseball caps and canes.

You will see all of the places near the Seine because a lot of the tourist sights are there, but there are tons of interesting things elsewhere in the city and much much better street markets than those wimpy little things in the 5th.

Use your energy to cross town on foot and discover things different from what 80% of the people here talk about. If you feel more comfortable in a nice bourgeois neighborhood, I would recommend looking at the Batignolles area in the 17th, Convention in the 15th or the Bastille area.

If you want to add more spice to your stay, you would do well to check out Belleville, Oberkampf or Olympiades.

But yeah, if you just want the postcard city, either of those places you are thinking about are fine.

kerouac

And Envierges is totally wise to advise you to check the legality of your apartment options. If these places cannot provide you with a municipal registration number by December 1st, avoid them at all costs.

MoBro

We stayed at the Hotel St Jacques, and we enjoyed that neighborhood.
Easy walking to several areas, little bars and restaurants sprinkled around. We liked the more energetic atmosphere of this student-oriented area.

We found our favorite restaurant up the street: Le Petite Prince de Paris.
https://www.lepetitprincedeparis.fr/english/

It's across the street from Le Coupe-Chou, which we also tried but were not impressed.
http://www.lecoupechou.com/History-o...-Chou_a60.html

wunderbar2

We've stayed in apartments and hotels on/near Rue Saint-Jacques close to Rue Galande and like the area very much. You may want to see if the apartment faces into an inner courtyard so you'll have less street noise, especially if close to Rue de la Hachette. Depending on exactly where you stay, there are supermarkets nearby, a Franprix on Rue Domant, Carrefour on Blvd Saint-Germain and a Monoprix on Blvd Saint-Michel.

We like the ease of taking the RER from the airport, find it easy to walk to so many places and it's a vibrant tho touristy area.

Enjoy your trip.

fuzzbucket

Everything will be settled around January 1 2018.
If you see a 13 digit registration number on a website, it is legal.
If you do not see a 13 digit registration number on a website, it is illegal.

I wouldn't advise staying in the areas kerouac advised, simply because those are not areas that people who dream about Paris will be thinking of.
Nothing wrong with them, they are cheaper, but will not give you what you are looking for.

I'd stay in the 5th or 6th arrondissements.
Here's a legal apart'hotel on a quiet street near Odeon and the Cluny museum:
http://www.residencehenri4.com/en/

PalenQ

I wouldn't advise staying in the areas kerouac advised, simply because those are not areas that people who dream about Paris will be thinking of

Depends whether you want an authentic Paris experience of staying in neighborhood dominated by Parisians not tourists. My Paris dream would more be a vibrant neighborhood with street markets - lots of cafes and boulangeries and local eateries

And places like the Bastille and Belleville are perfect for that. The Cluny area is right near the Latin Quarter and tourist central. Great location for easy walks to most major sites but Bastille is not far for those who like to walk - my favorite pasttime in Paris and what you see between the major sights is to me often more fun than the sights themselves.

Ordinary Parisian neighborhoods to me are much more the Paris dream than anything near the Latin Quarter.

Nikki

I think both those neighborhoods are fine. Shakespeare and Co. is in a very touristed area, the rue Monge market area is more residential. They are not that far apart, and both will have plenty of cafes and shops. Lots of good restaurants.

I will be staying in between those two areas for a few days in March, at the hotel mentioned above, the Hotel Residence Henri IV. Right after I thaw out my freeze-dried blue hair.

fuzzbucket

For the first-time visitor, I think the impression of the 6th arrondissement is well worth it.

If you want to stay in hotels or apartments where North Africans and East Indians live, you can - but you probably won't be happy there.

Stay with the tourists, the first time.

menachem

Rue St Jacques itself is not that touristy (whatever that may mean) and it is close to the many shops and one market that make up the area, also including Rue des Ecoles. Rue Monge is less convenient, also transport-wise.

But absolutely, also look elsewhere: Bastille or Belleville are perfectly fine. Just check you'll be near a metro station that has good, direct connections to the places you want to go.

Envierges

I venture to say that most first time visitors to Paris are looking for Paris, the Museum as depicted by Woody Allen, described by David Lebovitz, publicized in blurbs about Shakespeare and Co. and written about by Ernest Hemingway. So Tourist Central 1-5 especially the 6th is perfect.

The multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, entrepreneurial, high tech, cutting edge art, of Paris Now, Bastille, Belleville, Pantin, Batignolles etc. is not for them. Maybe on a later visit.

PatrickLondon

Depends how the "high energy" expresses itself, perhaps?

fuzzbucket

I agree with Envierges, since she lives in the 19th or 20th.

What you are looking for will not be found in those districts.
Maybe on a subsequent visit, in the future.

frankdaddy

My favorite place in Paris is the Latin Quarter. Rue de Jacob, Rue De Seine, all near the great places to see. Lots of boutiques and cafes. My favorite cafe Bar du Marche is right there. Lots of very quaint restaurants are within blocks away. You can walk to the Louvre, Notre Dame, Museum de Orsay and take a ferry to the Eiffel Tower. All great food places to buy food from the outdoor markets too.

Christina

Rue St Jacques itself is not that touristy (whatever that may mean) and it is close to the many shops and one market that make up the area,>>

It means there are a lot of tourists there, crowds of them on the streets and in the souvenir shops, and places cater to them. Rue St Jacques is a long street and sure, it's not that touristy on the southern end of it, but the OP said this place was in the first block of it near the Seine. It's a zoo around there as far as I'm concerned, it's hard to even cross the street due to crowds of tourists. Just that first block has numerous souvenir shops on it, I don't know how you can claim it's not touristy in that area. It is probably a bit better end of May than a few months later, though.