I've only stayed in hotels. I would like to look into an apartment for my next trip. There will be two of us. Any recommendations for apartments especially in the Marais area?

We stayed in a wonderful apartment in Paris last year after years of staying in hotels. The experience was great! Try contacting www.parisvacationapartments.com which we used. Our contact was named Isis and she helped us with EVERYTHING. Our apartment was in the Montmartre area and we had six people but I know that they do have smaller places for rent and they really do an excellent job.

There are a ton of posts on this topic - search Paris apartments..

I rented from rentparis.com a year and a half ago. It was in the marais area (apt 11? I think). Very small but very affordable. There should be something on their website for most budgets.

I rented through parisbestlodge.com and it was a good experience. Once you commit they email a contract and you send a "security" check. Through parisbestlodge, this will be returned if you cancel 60 days before arrival. Once you arrive you pay in full by cash or travelers checks in Euros (you can get euro tracelers checks at AAA offices). Your security check is returned once you depart providing you leave the apartment in good condition.

I am staying in a Paris apt for the first time on my upcoming trip.

By the way Parisbest lodge has a few apartments in the Marais. There is another nice place which is American owned in Paris that you can see at http://bienvenueaparis.com/index.htm. Both of their locations are pretty good, especially the 3 place Bourg-Tibourg location.

As with any agreement, read your lease and all the fine print!

We rented from parisuites.com just last week. Ours was in the 11th, but most are in the Marais. The owners of all seven places are Parisian, but now live in NYC. (They also list on parisperfect and a few other sites) The price was great and they were a delight to deal with--very quick responses to questions and even sent lots of basic Paris info. I'd book with them again in a heartbeat.

This was our first time trying an apartment over a hotel and, with a week or more, I can't see us ever booking a hotel again. So nice just to make a pot of coffee whenever we wanted, to come "home" at the end of the day and, one can rest in the bedroom while the other watches tv or reads in the parlor. Having the kitchen was the big selling point. It was great fun to go to the local bulangerie, patisserie, chacuterie, etc. and pick up fresh food, a baguette each morning and make eggs for breakfast before starting the day.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

I would start by finding some apartments on the internet. See what they offer and what they cost. Then make a listing of just what you need (i.e., do you need an elevator or can you climb five flights of steps yourself; do you need a washing machine/drier; will a studio suffice or do you need separate bedrooms and baths; must you have a balcony; what days will you be there(many rent Saturday afternoon to Friday or Saturday morning)?) You will pick up all this from your preliminary research as you see what is offered.

When you and your companion have agreed on your list, do some serious searching of the various agencies. Be aware that some apartments are offered by multiple agencies, even at different prices. I would suggest contacting them immediately, and finding multiple suited apartments, as some are taken well in advance, but may open up as cancellations occur.

Enjoy your stay. Even though we don't cook on vacation (other than perhaps hard boiling a few eggs), we find that apartments usually offer more room for your money, and a very satisfactory experience.

Suggest you visit slowtrav.com, with apartment reviews and a message board, aimed particularly at travelers who like to stay in apartments rather than hotels.