Do weekly rentals start on Saturday only? We are there for one week but arriving on Tuesday and leaving on Monday. Would love to shop for food and cook some of our meals. What was your experience?

Saturday to Saturday is most common, as is a one-week minimum. However everything is negotiable, and certainly many apartments advertise that they will rent for less than a week (but probably at a higher daily rate).

I think a lot depends on the season, and how popular the apartment is, and how far in advance you are looking. Were I an apartment owner, I would be reluctant to commit now to a non-standard term in a popular month, because I would be losing a week's rent (more precisely, the stubs of two weeks). On the other hand, if we are talking next week, and rentals have been slow, and the mortgage is due, welcome.

If you have no luck with your abnormal week, you might consider an apartment from Tuesday to Saturday, and a hotel for the balance of your stay.

Incidentally, unless you enjoy cooking, you can dine in an apartment very comfortably with prepared foods from neighborhood vendors. We had a roasted chicken that was very memorable.

Try rentalfrance.com. Pascal rents apartments for partial weeks. We have reserved one for four days and have not yet stayed in it, but others on these boards have spoken highly of him and his apartments.

For a truly "saveur parisienne" away from the tourists, to experience "la vraie vie" but close to the métro. A well decorated place with a great new kitcken and to top it all a great building. I really recommend
http://www.rentalapartmentparis.com/

My experience on VRBO is that if the apartment is available, you can rent it when you like. I have rented for 9 days from one gentleman, three days from another. We also own an apartment and know others who do as well and we all rent from any day to any day -- and our property manager still meets people when they arrive, regardless of the day. Perhaps this is a problem with larger rental firms, but I can say with confidence I don't know any individuals who require a Saturday arrival. I hope you find what you are looking for and have a great trip!

http://www.rentalapartmentparis.com/ appears to have nice apartments, but nowhere in their website can I find information such as rental cost, whether they rent by week, by month, or deposit and cancellation policy.

All that is listed in their website is description of the apartment!!!

Click "Reserve your Paris Vacation now" tab and it is all there even a sample of a rental agreement.

I found that Saturday to Saturday requirement much more common in Italy than in France, particularly in Paris. Many people rent for more than a week, so that restriction would be detrimental. The apartment I've rented twice in Paris (www.sant.com) offers a discount for 12 or more days, so the arrival date and departure dates can be almost anything.

Cottages and villas out in the countryside mostly rent Sat/Sat. But I have seen very few city apartments - in fact none that I can specifically remember - that have a Sat. start requirement. You can usually start an apartment rental on any day, assuming the flat is available.

I've never rented an apt. in Paris nor found any (and I've looked at dozens of web sites) that required a rental begin or end on a specific day of the week. I've never seen any requiring Sat-Sat rentals nor rentals of week-long blocks of time.

I have seen a couple that had closed offices on Sundays so you could not easily arrive or depart on Sunday, although some of those can make other arrangements. But with those, you could start or end any other day you wanted.

Our apartment rental in Paris was from Monday to Monday, the people coming in after us were arriving on Tuesday.
www.parisperfect.com
I found vrbo had some apts that were not strictly Sat to Sat also.

If all else fails, check the Citadines apartment hotels. There are several in Paris. Pleasant modern decor and they have kitchens.