Hello,

I hope you can help a lady out.

My Mom is coming with us to Paris Next year in October as part of her BUCKET list. She has survived colon cancer and we want to help he make her dreams come true.

She wants to stay in the 7th......I know, not everyone's cup of Café au lait....but this is what she wants and what Momma wants, i try to make happen.

It will be myself (early 40's, hubby who has mobility issues due to bad hips and a knee replacement due to congenital joint disease and my Mom in her early 70's.

She want to be ( in her words....) as close to the Eiffel Tower as possible so she can walk there each night. ( this is what she really wants)

We are going to be in Paris for at least 10 day but probably 12 to 14. We are going to see the Loire Valley and Normandie before we get to Paris.

I am looking for a 2 bedroom apartment with elevator or with just one flight of stairs as that is the most that is possible with my hubby.

It could also be a 1 bedroom with a great sofabed in the living room.

I tried to point her towards the Marais or others areas but she is insistent.....Can anyone help?

Budget is not the deciding factor but under $300 US a night would be ideal but this may be a dream.

If anyone has suggestions of a place to look, specific apartments, agencies.....Please let me know.

I can wait to help make her dreams come true. She is off to Australia and New Zealand this October to hug a Koala and see the Glow worm caves......It's cool to see her NEED to travel surface but now I feel the pressure to make Paris super special.

Thank you from Canada
PhotobearSam

Hi PhotoBear,

We have stayed at amazing apt. In the 7th and many of our friends subsequently have rented it too. I'll let you look at this and see what you think! Go to: www.rentalfrance. Look for the 2BR apt on Rue de L'universite Eiffle Tower!

Good luck and enjoy.

Try to find a place bordering the 15th arrondissement, for example around La Motte Piquet-Grenelle. It will still be super close to the Eiffel Tower.

If one flight of stairs is your absolute limit I would recommend you keep in mind that sometimes elevators don't work. We rented an apartment once that was on, I believe, the 6th or 7th floor. For 3 of the 10 days we stayed there the elevator did not work and we had to go up and down a narrow spiral staircase with just a rope railing. We came back to our building after a long day and found the elevator out of operation. The rental agent hadn't shown us where the door to the stairway was and we searched all over for it -- for a while we thought we might end up having to go to a hotel for the night as no one came along to help and no one answered at first when we buzzed some of the other apartments to see if someone could tell us where it was; finally I tried again and someone answered (one of those stories that are funny now, not so much when it's happening).

Your budget is low. Look at Paris Perfect but be prepared to pay more .

If you are going to be there for so long there is no way I would try to squish into a 1 bedroom. Your mom will want more privacy and IMHO sleeping on a pull-out sofa is not for anyone over the age of 25.

Can't reco specific apartments - but if you search here you will find a number of different agencies listed as reliable.

<< She want to be ( in her words....) as close to the Eiffel Tower as possible so she can walk there each night. ( this is what she really wants) >>

Does mom know that when she walks to the ET she will be underneath it and it's not the prettiest sight on the ground. Far better to sit in a cafe and admire it from a bit of a distance.

Here are some places you can start looking.

http://www.parisvacationapartments.com/
vrbo.com
http://www.vacationinparis.com/apts/aSearch.html

One of the best sights of the ET is from the river. If you take the Vedettes du Pont Neuf (near Notre Dame), and choose a boat that leaves on the half hour, you will be near the ET on the hour when it sparkles.

Another thing to keep in mind is that she may not have great views of the ET as she walks toward it. She could always take a bus or metro, get off and start her walk there for better views. It's great that you want to give her what she wants but she should be aware of the down side of walking to the ET from the apartment.

http://www.myparisvisit.com has a large assortment of apartments. I have rented from them and while their apartments are comfortable, they are not elegant. I stayed in the 2nd and my friends had 2 apartments in the 1st, but hopefully you can find in the 15th or 7th.

http://holidays-france-rentals.com/a...w/eiffel_tower

They have availability in October. You want at least 70 mm in size.

We rented a one brm apt. through Vacation in Paris. Called Les Invalides. great location, close to Eiffel tour. I think the sofa/couch pulls out to a bed. would highly recommend it, as well as vacation in Paris

The place on rue de l'Universite which Calival recommends is also posted at www.paris7thrental.com. We stayed there last summer. It was indeed a great location. The place is compact by US standards but has everything you need, including two bathrooms. The shower room off the master is rather tiny but has a great spa type fixture with multiple nozzles. The other bathroom has a full size tub with shower and is actually large for Paris. Kitchen is small but modern and quite functional. Beds are very comfortable. Closet space is limited but the owner has made good use of wall and back of the door hooks. It is on the third floor but there are two elevators. The only negative during our stay was that the portable A/C units had to be turned off by 10pm (noise concern), and it was a warm summer. That should not be a concern in October.

I get what you are all saying....but she is insistent.

If you have an apartment in another area that you think would suit us, please post it and I will try to convince her.

That apartment looks super economical!!

what is airbnb ? IS this some place I should be looking?

sure, give it a look -- it's a website where owners sublet their apartments directly.

HOw close does she really want to be to the Eiffel Tower? Because if you really want to walk there every night, you probably don't want to be more than maybe 6 blocks away, I would think. I would imagine she wouldn't really want to walk there every night from La Motte Picquet or Ecole Militaire, but certainly might be wrong if she wants to walk a lot every night. And do you realize how early it will get dark in October? Does she plan to walk to/from the Tower alone in the dark late at night? I might then not want an apartment where she had to walk in some areas, such as directly south around Bir Hakeim, for example.

No....not late at night.....and my hubby and I would go with her. I would NEVER let her go alone anywhere in a foreign country alone. She wants to take a lot of night photos of the tower, parts of the tower, reflections of the lit tower in puddles etc etc.....

She said that at night, she would feel like it's more special. I know that by 7 pm it will probably be dark and by 9 she will be wanting to go to bed each night to get an early start each day.

<< I would NEVER let her go alone anywhere in a foreign country alone. >>

Are you going to Australia and New Zealand with her? It sounded as though she were going on her own.

What are your plans to stop her going off on her own?

Back off.....She is going to australia with a friend. I don't have to have a plan so she doesn't wander off.....she is not senile. I would out of respect and care accompany her ANYWHERE she wants to go. She would not want to go around alone and I would not expect her to. How did this get so off track.

If anyone wants to HELP with apartments.....that is nice but if you want to start a fight, I am out of here.

Paris is super safe, and maybe particularly the 7th. your mother is a photographer?
Check sunset times for your time there. This does become a bit obsessive. I LOVE the 7th--rounding the corner and seeing the Tower.