Hi! We are going to Paris at the end of April - 5 of us, my mom, hubby, and 2 little girls - I have apartments narrowed down to 2 in the 3rd and 1 in the 7th, but I can't decide. They amenities are all about equal, so it's just down to location-- along the Champ de Mars, near Temple Square park, or near Place Vosges.

We were in Paris two years ago, and stayed in Montmartre, which we loved, but it was a lot of travel to get places, and with the wee ones, we want someplace more central.

On our first trip to Paris we stayed along the Rue Cler and loved the area, so I am learning towards the 7th, but I certainly can be persuaded......

Don't know much about the 7th, but we love the 3rd, and the area around the Place des Voges is wonderful. You are within easy walking ditsance of Ile St Louis. If you are a few blocks west of the Place, you are within easy walking distance of Notre Dame as well.

SS

We have been to Paris four times. The first two we stayed in the 7th and the last two visits on the Ile St. Louis.

We much preferred the Ile location. Found that the 7th was great for the Eiffel tower but more attractions that appealed to us were located near the Ile.

Guess it depends on what you like to do.

ditto what others said.

The Place des Vosges location would be the most central to the majority of the main tourist sites and locations between Ile Saint Louis and The Louvre on the right bank and The Latin Quarter and Orsay Museum on the left bank.

One thing that could make a difference is proximity to Metro stations and what lines they serve. It's likely you'll use the Metro a lot to get around with a group like that.

Here's a link to the map. Pay attention to what lines are close and how many connections to get to places you want to visit. Try to avoid the massive Chatelet station, even for connections:

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...reseaux&fm=pdf

If the connections are good, I'd lean to the 3rd, other things being equal.

Thank you everyone for your prompt advice!
This is our 3rd trip to Paris, once alone, 2nd time with one daughter, now with 2 daughters (2 and 5) and my mom (60ish) who has never been to Paris. She has had a knee replacement, so she is ok, but won't be able to walk ALL DAY LONG as we are used to, so Metro access is important. She will also have her last day solo, getting to the airport and such, as we are moving on to visit family in Germany.

As such, we have done the "biggies" and we mostly like to wander the markets and visit the parks. We love the Jewish quarter (DH dreams of L'As du Falafal), DeHillerin, Place Vosges, Luxemburg Gardens. We would like to try some of the parks further out, Chaumont and such, we have never made it to Bon Marche, and my mother would love to see some of the Brocante markets. We would also love the girls to see the Eiffel Tower "sparkle" at night.

the 7e apt is sort of equidistant to Ecole Militaire and La Motte Picquet (this seems to me the most central, but I am no expert)

3e (Place VOsges) list Chemin Vert as the closest Metro

3e (near Temple Square) lists both Temple and Art et Metiers

Having never spent a lot of time in the 3rd, I am having difficulty judging how convenient (or inconvenient) travel will be. Thanks again!

I have stayed in both areas, and this is not an easy choice.

None of these places is quite as close to onvenient metro lines as I would like (changes required for many big destinations) but the bus service in the 3rd (rue de Turenne, for example) is excellent.

Assuming there are no long flights of stairs for Mom, I would go for the one near Chemin Vert so I could take my kids to the Cirque d'Hiver!

I would say the 3rd without hesitation.

Make sure you get the exact location of these apartments. Then look them up on a map and find the closest metro stop. Sometimes owners exaggerate the convenience of their apartment's location.

Also, for your mom, did you check for an elevator at each apartment? Or that the apartments are on a lower floor? Remember 2nd floor European is 3rd floor American.

Oh, and you can look up the apartment surroundings (walk up and down the street -- virtually) using Google Maps Streetview. You used to be able to do this with www.pagesjaunes.com, but I can't figure out how to do it now.

The 7th is also served by at least 4 bus lines, in addition to teh metros you quote. I think that is much more convenient than the 3eme. The girls may not want to walk forever. We LOVE the buses.

"Everyone is preaching for his parish" here, which is what usually happens when areas of Paris are discussed.

I wonder if Gretchen counted the bus lines in the 3rd before praising the ones in the 7th. ;-)

There are a couple of nice little parks in the 3rd as well as the Place des Vosges (sandpits here).

One has a childrens play area with a climbing frame and slide. This is on Rue du Parc Royal. The other is just round the corner on Rue Payenne.

At the end of October I spent several hours in both parks with fellow Fodorite mebe and her three small children. We ate our falafels (taken away from L'As du Falafel) in the park on Rue Payenne while the children ran round and round the sunken circular rose bed and jumped off the steps. Then we moved on to the other park round the corner. There are loos here, and a cafe on the corner.

I don't know the 7th but the bus network around the 3rd is really good. If you go on www.ratp.fr and choose the interactive map for the buses you can see exactly where the stops are and where the lines go. It takes a bit of playing with to get the best information out of it, but it is an excellent tool for planning any trip to Paris and getting around on the buses.

I was in Paris this Spring with my nephew, his wife and 2 boys ages 2 and 4. We stayed by the Place Des Vosges. The area was great.
Food shopping for the apartment was very convenient and there were enough casual inexpensive restaurants to choose from in the area.
Buses and the Metro were very close and the children loved using both .We also walked to many sites from this location.
The Place Des Vosges has a wonderful playgound for children to use.
We usually took them there each morning before heading out for exploring the city.They loved playing in the park.
I would definitely stay in that area again with children.

No, Kerouac, but I thought the buses ANYwhere were worth mentioning. People do overlook them. When we stayed in the 11eme (not too far) it is also very well served by buses to all parts of the city.

The Metro stops for the 3e are all about the same, to get you down to line 1, which brings you to the Louvre area.

The Luxembourg Gardens area is also one that would be good for kids

I don't think it makes any sense to talk about bus lines for an entire quarter, anyway. The 7th is HUGE and there are large parts of it that are pretty far from a bus stop. At least the 3rd isn't so big so you can talk about it a little more. The 7th is alone is being huge, of course, all the outer arrondisements are.

Been to Paris over 20 times and I would definitley pick the location near the Place de Vosges. The place itself is a nice place for children to let off steam . The transportation , dining and service options are grewat. And My favorite street market, Richard Lenoir , is nearby. The 7th kind of leaves me cold..sorry can't help it!

Mimar, you used ".com" instead of ".fr"! Go to www.pagesjaunes.fr and click <i>Photos de ville</i> under <i>A découvrir</i> on the left side.

I know that google maps have overtaken the need for the Pages Jaunes maps - but I still prefer to use them nonetheless. Probably more than a little nostalgia... But also, as much as I find google maps have many useful features, I really like the way the Pages Jaunes maps are designed!

And avalon, I'm with you as far as the "vibe" of the 7eme is concerned.