Marais or Mouffetard?
 

Hi,

My husband and I will be in Paris for a week in late May. We are planning to rent an apartment, and we are currently trying to decide between one in the Marais (rue F. Daval) and one in the 5th (rue Mouffetard--faces courtyard, not street).

It is my 4th trip to Paris, my husband's first. I've not spent much time in either area. We enjoy eating, wandering, and shopping (in addition, of course, to seeing the usual sites). We are not interested in clubbing or excessive noisiness.

We'd like to stay somewhere with a boulangerie/patisserie nearby, with restaurant options ranging from the inexpensive & quick to the slightly more expensive and elegant. I've previously stayed in Montmartre (rue Lepic) and Bastille (rue Daval), and really enjoyed both.

Any thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Thank you,
Jen

Mouffetard may be preferable since it is a daily market street.

Personally, I'd prefer rue Mouffetard about a hundred times over Daval. Maybe more (given the apt. is not on the street).

Rue Daval is a really small street and noisy, there are a lot of clubs and people around there at all hours. I wouldn't call that the Marais.

I especially like the rue Mouffetard market (and the cafes on the Place de Contrescarpe), but the upper half of the street is home to tacky tourist restaurants. What's the address.

Hmmm, tough call for me. I've stayed in both areas (and on the rue Lepic too, which I also loved) and lean toward the Marais personally, but for a person's first visit to Paris, I think I'd lean toward Mouffetard, especially since you're not interested in clubbing or noisiness.

The market there and the cafes on the Place de Contrescarpe do lend a nice feel. You could rent the Kiezlowski movie with Juliette Binoche (I think it's "Blue"), which has several scenes that take place in and around Contrescarpe and ask your husband what he thinks.

Also, plug the street address into www.pagesjaunes.fr so that you can see the exact building and its immediate neighbors.

FWIW, I would go for the 5th. It has been years since I lived there. For eating and wandering, 5th and 6th, you can't go wrong. This is Paris.

I love the "Mouffe" area. Where did you find the apartment? i would love to find a reputable agency.

Any recommendation for hotels in this area for about E100-150?

towcay, I heartily recommend the Grandes Ecoles, which in the 5th, near the Sorbonne. It's in your price range.
Excellent location--near metro stops, shops, places to eat, etc. And, it's delightful hotel.

Hi all,

Thank you so much for your responses. We're in the process now of trying to book the Mouffetard apartment, through Lodgis.

Although I do not have an exact address, I believe it is in the lower part of rue Mouffetard, because of its closest metro stop--Censier-Daubenton.

Now, can I pick your brains for restaurant recommendations nearby? We're game for any type of cuisine, though probably will avoid the higher priced restaurants.

Merci,
Jen

I would advise that you stay at the rue Mouffetard area instead of the Marais district.

I finally visited the rue Mouffetard and it is delightful. The street market is huge and wonderful. There are lots and lots of nice restaurants both on the rue Mouffetard and its surrounding streets. This is a slice of real Parisian life to be seen and experience here. There's at least one patisserie and a branch of Androuet fromagerie is here.

The Marais is a nice area too but I find the rue Mouffetard is more atmospheric. Also you are so close to pl. de la Contrescarpe. You can also walk to the Luxembourg Gardens and the Marais even.

There are a few inexpensive restaurants off rue Mouffetard. I think it's called rue du Pot de Fer (yeah, funny name). The restaurants all look like tourist traps but the one I ate at was not bad at all. Of course I forgot to write down its name.

If you can't get into the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles (which Howard recommended--it's very popular and is frequently booked up), you might want to consider the Hotel Monge. It's on rue Monge, just a short walk from the Contrescarpe/Moufettard area (5 minutes).

Although we've stayed in the 5eme several times, we haven't dined in many of its restaurants. Brasserie Balzar is one we tried and enjoyed for its atmosphere more than its food (which was fine but standard).

We do like Chez Maitre Paul, which is in the 6th but quite close to the 5th.

I've been looking at that same apartment on vrbo.com. Looks good to me. What did you decide? (and how much was it?)

I am dying to find out the area of your apartment. Had a great time in the neighborhood. That metro line works really well for a lot of reasons, too. I will get you list of our budget restaurant recs soon, lawyerjen.

Did you end up staying on Rue Mouffetard? We are considering staying in an apartment there too and I would be curious about your experience.

Thanks!

I stayed in the 5eme in May and really enjoyed the Mouffetard. The manager at Jeff Brugges chocolatier is really nice and friendly. Restaurants: Les Fetes Galantes on R. Polytechnique Ecole, Le Petit Prince just a block away on R. Lannau, and Le Peraudin and R. St.-Jaques. All 3 are up by the Pantheon. We ate twice at Les Fetes Galantes, really small, nice people and fantastic food. Le Petit Prince was a little more elegant, great service and the food was wonderful. (We were inadventantly going to order brains and the waiter stopped and asked, vry politely) if we really wanted brains or something else. He saved us and our meal was excellent). At Le Peraudin, I had the most fantastic beef bourguignone. In the Marias I do recommend L'as du Falafel for lunch. Amazing Falafel pitas.

Enjoy your trip.

I wish to add to JAF88's restaurant recommendations in the Latin Quarter. Behind the Pantheon at 17 rue de Laplace. It specializes in Auvergne cuisine.

http://www.chantairelle.com/chantairelle/intro-usa.html

nolaura...I'm not the original poster but I stayed in an apartment on the rue mouffetard last summer. Go to www.private-paris.com to see several offerings in an old courtyard building. Very cool place.

We love the Mouffetard area, too. Our favorite apartments can be found at www.lacigaleparis.com We have tried many restaurants in the area, as well as on Bl. St Marcel - very French! Very local. No tourists, but busy and easy and fun and friendly.