I will be in Paris this coming spring with my 2 grown up kids and my mother who is in her early 70's. We have decided to rent an apartment becuase we prefer a spacious apartment to a small room in a hotel. My mother cannot do alot of walking so we want to be in the middle of all the elegent shopping (designers and department stores would be nice) as well as the cinemas for the kids. Which part of paris should I be looking at? I know paris is divided into numeral parts so which am I supposed to be in?

Try Citadines apartments, the ones in St. Germain des Pres which is in the 6th district.<BR><BR>There is a cinema on Blvd. St. Michel nearby but that's in the 5th district.

bb has given you good advice.<BR><BR>Also keep in minf=d that Paris has an excellent public transit system. Your precise location is not as important as access to the Metro or a bus line.<BR><BR>My own preference is the 6th.

Duwa,<BR><BR>I corresponded with a poster here on the forum who rents two apartments in Paris, one of which is at the southern end of Blvd. St. Michel,(fifth arrondissement) which is a lovely area to base yourselves in. You can check out the info about the apartments at: LaCigaleParis.com. Generally speaking, I prefer the fifth and sixth arrondissements, also love the area around the Marais. Good luck!

If you really want to be near designer shops and dept. stores, you should be in the 8th or 1st arrondisements. Most of the dept. stores are on bd Haussmann near the border of the 9th and 8th, and luxury or designer shops are around rue du fbg Saint-Honore and some south of the Champs-Elysees. If you chose a place that was around the Madeleine church, you would be in the middle of all these things or perhaps something calling itself the Opera area (Opera Garnier). There are cinemas around there. I think this must be the same post of a week or two ago, it is the same question.<BR><BR>If money is not a consideration (I'm guessing from the shopping list), you might do better in a hotel, actually, because of your mother's needs and the fact that you will be totally on your own (ie, no concierge, no one to answer questions or help with directions, etc). There are plenty of spacious luxury hotels and plenty of small, uncomfortable, unattractive apartments (be sure to check if it has an elevator). A nice spacious apartment in that area will not be cheap.

try to find an appartment nr boulevard haussemann. Ohhhh my god, wot a street!!! printemps and galeries lafayette are two wonderful shopping centres and its the centre of haute couture!!!! good luck!!!<BR>

You're talking about different areas so you can't be by all. For department stores Blvd Haussmann near the Opera Garnier is best for Galeries Lafayette and Printemps. For really high end shopping Ave Montagne off the Champs Elysees and some on rue Fauborg St Honore. Cinemas in Montparnasse area and a few others. Best is to get a place near a good metro because you'll have to get around the city to reach the various areas, or take taxis or buses. For more Paris information go to www.anamericaninparis.com

Stay in a part of the city that is fun for cafes and atmosphere and also near a direct bus line to go to the shopping areas. Best of all worlds.

Bear in mind that you'll need to check whether a cinema is showing a film dubbed into French rather than sub-titled.