Help with Paris Apartment
 

Hello everyone! We are searching for a nice apartment for 1 week next May. Our budget allows for the following 2 apartments listed on VRBO -
No.88987 in the Louvre area - 600 Euros per week
No. 94989 11th arrondissement near the Marais - 500 Euros per week.

Has anyone stayed in either of those apartments or - do you have any recommendations for other apartments at that budget level?

We need cable TV, Queen size bed and an elevator in the building and - QUIETLY SITUATED.

Thanks any help would be appreciated.

ttt

Well, they both look very nice to me. For our family, I'd pick the one in the 11th, and retreat to a more residential area. I like being around everyday shops, for groceries and the like. The Angelina Tea shop near the Louvre one is beautiful and pricy.

Stokebailey thank you for that advice - that gives us a bit more perspective. The one near Maurice Gardette Square seems to be quite a bit more spacious too.

We will probably book that one unless someone comes up with any better recommendations.

Well, I'm a big proponent for location, and I'd say that the Louvre one wins on that aspect hands down! You really can't go wrong there. It's so great to be able to walk to the major sites if the weather's nice, and also to be so close to metros and buses. If there's just two of you, I'd vote for the Louvre.

ttt

Further comments or recommendations anyone?

So far the opinions are evenly divided - need a tie breaker. ha ha

Do you think you'll cook much, use traiteurs/delis? Or are you more likely to go to restaurants? We are the former types, and quiet at night was a big issue for us, so we chose a more out-of-the-way option in the 15th, and were happy with it, but getting around took longer.

You may also want to go to www.pagesjaunes.com and try to get a look at photos of the facades of the two addresses. You can check out adjoining buildings.

I must admit that being across from the Tuileries sounds tempting, and of course closer to the river. Maybe someone else who knows the Square Gardette area will chime in. I'll bet you could flip a coin and do fine either way. The street near the Louvre, of course, is a busy one, but the apartment faces a courtyard, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Have you tried the method of looking at http://www.pagesjaunes.fr at the streets where the apartments are located, and seeing how you like the areas?

It's very hard for anyone to tell you whether these are quietly situated without any information about the streets - it could easily be either way.

Sorry. Of course WillTravel is correct that is :pagesjaunes.fr.

OH, no. I couldn't put one of those obnoxious smiley faces in if I tried. Double sorry.

Christina usually has very strong (and useful) opinions on apartment rentals, maybe she'll see the thread tomorrow.

Wow! I have just been playing around with the pagesjaune. What a wonderful system - thank you so much for the hint.
Stokebailey - we actually like cooking or at least taking something home from the deli. We will have been away from home for about 6 weeks by then and will be a bit sick of eating out every night. France is a good place to do this because there is usually a lovely selection of take home goodies available.

Anyway thanks for your helpful suggestions - really appreciated. Perhaps Christina will have something interesting to add.

I wish we currently had this dilemma, but our next Paris trip will be awhile now...
You might also consider posting again, if no luck, with "Square Maurice Gardette" or some other identifier to catch the eye of someone familiar with that neighborhood.

We were able to eliminate some apartments using pagesjaunes, based on excessive graffiti in one case and lively-looking night spots in another.

PatrickLondon told me to use pagesjaunes -- it's really wonderful isn't it?

If I were going for an apartment, I'd assume the reason would be for added comfort over a hotel room. The one in the 11th would most definitely be more comfortable than the one in the 1st - it has better seating and separate rooms (for example, I like to read after hubby goes to sleep). Also, it has the appeal (to me) of offering a calm retreat from the tourist hoards which roam the central areas of Paris. The little park looks very nice and the area is surrounded by several metro lines (didn't check the buses). We aren't the types to go out and come back several times a day, though - we go out, then go 'home' and explore... only to sometimes go out again for dinner. Otherwise, we find restaurants in 'our' neighborhood. If you want to pop in and out of your hotel/apartment, then you might prefer the one by the Louvre.

I notice the apatment in the 11th has a washer (which maybe includes a dryer?). Whereas the one near the Louvre doesn't. One of the conveniences of self-catering acommodation is being able to wash clothes at home during touring downtime. But apartments with a washer are rare in Paris.

So add that to your consideration.

On the other hand, we go for central hotels, etc, because we sometimes split up to follow our own interests. It's nice then to have a place nearby to go back to, hang out while we wait for the other person to return. Then go out again.

Just adding some other thoughts.

Asssuming the amenities are the same and the price almost so, you are going to judge it based on how you are going to spend your trip. If this is your first trip to Paris and you are going to be spending all/most of your days going to see the sites, the 11th appartment is near 3 different metro lines, with 2 that would get you directly to Opera/Champ Elysee/Eiffel (Trocadero). But it will mean that everyday you will need to use the Metro to get places. Not a big deal, but something to consider. The 1st appt. would allow you to do more walking. If you are planning on some "off" days, the 11th would be nice because you could hang out, go to the local butcher, pastry shop, go to the park for a picnic,etc...There will be few tourists, so you will get a better feel for how an everyday Parisian lives, can find your own small cafe for morning coffee, local restaurant, etc..The 1st place will be much busier and not offer quite the same experience. I got back from Paris a couple of weeks ago and I stayed out in the 16th, nearest tourist site would be the Eiffel tower. There were no tourists around and it was a different experience. But, the only drawback was the somewhat long metro ride back to my hotel everyday.
Hope this helps,
Mike

I would focus on other things when choosing between the two. Have you asked for references for each place? Contacting people who have stayed there would be helpful (and also it would reassure you the properties are being represented fairly). Also, does each place have an in city contact? What if you lose your key or the washer leaks and floods the apartment? A contact in the city is invaluable.

I love giving opinions about apts., it's a lot easier when you don't have to stay in them or decide yourself!

I think they are both okay, it's hard to say. I agree with Mike that it could depend on your situation and how familiar you are with Paris and what you want to do. The second one in the 11th looks nice enough, but it bugs me when owners are so coy or vague about including pictures and info. LIke in this one, they don't show very many photos of the place -- it's too small to be a two bedroom apt., that's why I wondered, but it looks okay. It is very common for Paris apts. to have washers and NO DRYERS, so I am sure that is the case here or they would say they had a dryer. For one week, I wouldn't even care, and a washer but no dryer isn't that useful anyway -- maybe for underwear or something easy to hang dry.

I would have been against the Louvre one due to it's location on that busy street, but it says it is fourth floor and overlooks the courtyard, to may be okay. Unfortunately you never know if an apt. is going to be really quiet until you get there and find out what the neighbors or building right across the street is like, etc. So you can try for the best, but never know. For example, one I rented an apt. on the 3rd floor of a building in the 15th arr. on a narrow side street. You'd think this should be very quiet, huh? Well, the neighbors in the apt. building right across the street were young and played loud rock music for hours, and of course the windows were open as it was summer. ON top of that, there was an Algerian small bar/cafe down in front on the ground floor across the street and they played twangy dissonant Middle Eastern string music (you know the kind at Afghan restaurants or Indian, it's an acquired taste) at loud volume on a boombox and started real early in the morning and went until late at night. I never would have expected that, it wouldn't even look like the kind of place you'd expect to be playing any music, few small cafes do. So, anyway, you just really never know for sure about quiet, but both of these sound okay on the surface about that.

YOu just have to be aware that the one near Gardette square is going to involve more travel and be more inconvenient in that way, but will be more of a regular neighborhood.

Well thank you everyone - you have all been so helpful pointing out things that we hadn't really thought about. It is not our first trip to Paris but the others were short stays where we just 'did' the main sights. This time we wanted to feel a bit more as if we were 'living' in Paris rather than just visiting and see some of the more obscure less well-known things.

It has always been my husband's dream to live in Paris and this is a little trial run so I suppose the Square Gardette apartment is more like the real thing. I agree with Christina that they have been a bit coy with providing photographs.

I will contact both owners and see what eventuates.

Christina the rock band and the odd music sound really awful and I hope that we can avoid your experience in that regard.

Thanks again for all the input.

Josephine

One more comment: I understand that VRBO charges by the photo, so you might ask them to email you additional ones.

The Square Maurice Gardette, just off Avenue Parmentier in the 11th Arrondissement is just fine. But "near" is a rather elastic word. How about a street address? Of course, there are no "sights" in the vicinity but neither are the businesses constantly occupied with visitors who have difficulty communicating their wants and needs. The welcome is likely to be warmer where you youself are a novelty rather than a common sight. Good restaurants are aren't much in evidence in the surrounds of the square but they aren't that far away either, in the rue Oberkampf area and the surrounds of Place de la Bastille.

The apartment "near" the Marais is a bit "out there". But, not that far.

If you go to www.pagesjaunes.fr, click on the British flag, then (over on the right) click on Paris from the drop down menu, enter 8 & rue General Renault, you will find that building on the corner with the blue facade on the ground floor. Then, you can poke around the neighborhood with the hand/cursor.

Then, if you go to www.ratp.fr and enter the same address then click on "Plan du Quartier", you will see that there are stops for three bus routes nearby. Bus 69 is fantastic. You can go west to Place de la Bastille, the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Invalides and on to the Eiffel Tower. At Place de la Bastille, you connect to bus routes to everywhere else.

Richard Lenoir (magnificent, Thursdays and Sundays) market is about 1/2 mile away (and on the Bus 69 route).

I'd sure like to see many more photos of each apartment.

The apartment near the Louvre is fantastically located for seeing and doing, but probably not for shopping for groceries and take-away nearby (other than the Ave President Wilson market). You'll step out each day with beautiful views to the Louvre, Tuileries and across the Seine, but you'll be dodging throngs of tourists. Everything in this neighborhood will be much pricier than in the 11th.

The apartment is the 11th would definitely be more like "living" in Paris.

PS Are you staying days of the week that would more or less coincide with a Carte Orange? If so, I'd recommend going all over on the buses - so you can enjoy the scenery all over and also see quickly find appealing resources (cafes, grocery stores, food shops, etc.) in your "neighborhood". On a bus, you can always hop off when you see something interesting.

Thank you all again - so helpful. We will take all your advice to heart.

jofrommelbourne... did you rent the apartment in the 11th? I'm in email dialogue about it now. How was it? It seems great for my adult daughter and I, but a first hand account would be great.