Christinen

Hello everyone!

My husband and I are going to France this September/October. We will be in Paris for just over 2 weeks at the end of the trip. It is our second time to Paris. We are both in our early 30's and are foodies (and winies - not winos ;-) ).

I'm looking at an apartment with Paris Address, which is the agency we used last time. I need a bit of advice/insider knowledge please. I like everything about the apartment itself and the price is very good.

http://www.parisaddress.com/en/apart...nt-rental-1113

However, from a google street search it appears to be right above a cabaret club La Nouvelle Eve and the area looks like it may get a wee bit dodgy at night.

My husband also thinks that it might be a bit too far away from the "main bits" although I have assured him that with the métro and bus network pretty much everywhere is just a short ride away. And we have spent a little time already seeing the "main attractions" and this time I want to just live and relax and wander. Last time we stayed on the border of the 6th and 7th and this time I'd like to be in a different area. I also found a nice apartment in the Chatelet area but the price was significantly more than the first one and I think this area might be jam packed with tourists and the junky souvenir shops that usually go along with high tourist traffic areas.

I plan on getting us Navigo Decouverte cards which will make it very easy to just grab a metro ride or bus.

I guess the advice I need is: Is the area seedy? Will it feel comfortable to wander back from a restaurant at night. And maybe I need some reassurance that it is not "out of the way".

Thanks in advance for your help.

Christine

PS the Chatelet apartment link for comparison:

http://www.parisaddress.com/en/apart...nt-rental-1289

Blueeyedcod

La Nouvelle Eve is indeed very busy - loads of tour groups go there for a cheap-ish version of Moulin Rouge. I would look elsewhere.

Be mindful about the legalities of apartment rentals in Paris. Others will inform you of this.

Christinen

Thanks Blueeyedcod.
Yep I know that the majority of holiday apartments are illegal. Having been a lurker on Fodors and TA for a while I also know that lots of people have strong opinions on this

denisea

I would not want an apartment right over a club but I am a very light sleeper. I would be concerned about the thumping of the bass all night. If that isn't a concern, I don't think the apartment is too out of the way. You do have metro stations that are close.

Can you get any recent reviews of this apartment on Trip Advisor or other sites?

Whathello

I slept at hotel libertel opera on Duperre.
I vowed never to go back again - the street Duperre has several brothels and I don't like to be hailed with 'alors chéri ?' when I walk past it.
Rue Fontaine is adjacent.

I slept a little bit further close to St Georges and loved it.


https://www.google.be/maps/@48.88147...6229,17z?hl=fr


On topof it, you have no reviews on the apartment and the price is relatively high (127 €/night).

For that price I'd look into hotels on booking.com (but I'm biased against apartments).

Also keep in mind there is a crackdown on apartments, a mlot of them are illegal - don't prepay too much and not by cash and specify you need an invoice for whatever reason. If they say they don't give invoice you'll know.

Christina

I often stay in an area not too far from that one but a bit to the SE and place Toudouze which I like a lot, and it's not dodgy at all. However, that apt is really near that sleazier area around bd de Clichy/Pigalle, etc so I wouldn't stay there, either. I wouldn't stay above any place like that. The ad is a bit duplicitous in that it claims the nearest metro stop is St Georges which is a nice enough neighborhood and one I use a lot -- that's not true as the nearest metro stop to that apt is really Pigalle and Blanche also. St Georges is farther than either of them, I think they are doing that to mislead, because if you didn't know where it was on that map, and someone asked me if right near St Georges would be okay, I'd say it's fine.

I've also stayed around Chatelet for a few days and would never rent an apt. there, your ideas about it are correct. I stayed in a hotel for a couple days because I had to attend an event at Theatre de Chatelet and wanted to be able to walk to/from it and it was fine for that but it is not where I'd choose to rent an apt or stay longer term.

That area is certainly not "out of the way", however, you can look at a map and see where it is and if you've been to Paris, you should also understand that. It seems a lot of tourists think they can't be farther than a half mile from the Seine, but you'd find a lot more in less touristy areas if you didn't require that. Although I'll admit websites that cater to tourists do concentrate on inner arrondisements. It only takes a few minutes by metro to get from many points in the outer arrondisements to the Seine. You don't have to be on the edge of Paris, but lots of areas in the 9th-17th arr. aren't that far out if you are near the inner border. And for the 9th, all of it, I just wouldn't choose that location of that apt mentioned.

If your husband thinks that apt in the 9th is "too far out", then you have to deal with that and search appropriately, I'm not sure what the problem is that he is concerned about. When sightseeing, you just go there anyway by metro usually and are then around sightseeing all day anyway, all over. At night, I tend to stay around where I am staying to dine, etc., so it doesn't matter. That apt is only about 3 km from Notre Dame, for example, which is less than two miles.

menachem

Stayed in Rue Blanche in december. First time there, and I thought the area would be slightly seedy, close to Bvd de Clichy and Pigalle. It's obvious that the area south of Pigalle is now gentrifying quite rapidly. It was busy at night, but only at certain spots. Being above a nightclub would not be my preference. Other than that, there's nothing very dodgy about the area (anymore)

Christinen

Thank you so much to everyone for talking the time to reply!
I have decided against that apartment. I think that I already had because of the cabaret club downstairs and that is why I wanted reassurance, it didn't feel right. Especially since there are no reviews of the apartment.
I know that nothing is really too far in Paris, we only had a week last time and managed to get everywhere very quickly. We did walk through the Pigalle area but it was a couple of years ago and I had read that it was quickly turning into a very 'hipster' area so I thought it might be a good new area to explore properly. It's crazy the difference a couple of streets over can make.
So it's back to the searching and after sitting Isaac (husband) down with a large glass of wine I've discovered that he is much more of a romantic than I ever knew and his dream is staying in the old Haussmann style buildings somewhere around the 7th, 15th or 16th, ideally with a little balcony and a view of the Eiffel Tower twinkling at night! (Actually I'm not sure if that's romantic or clichéd or if he's seen too many movies but I think it's quite cute.)
Thanks to Whathello for your advice on the apartments. I have used the agency of those apartments before and they were very professional and no cash was requested, just credit card or paypal. The main reason that I like an apartment so much is that I love to cook and I could not imagine seeing all of the fabulous produce at the markets and have no way of cooking it. And I have looked at aparthotels but they tend to be very expensive in comparison.