Hello,

First, I would like to thank all of the Fodorites who have posted trip reports, resources, and general opinions on the boards. I am planning our first trip to Paris and have found the information here invaluable.

After reading many many posts on apartment rentals and recommendations here and on Slowtrav, I think I have found the perfect place for us. It is very different than our modern home and fits in my silly idea of an overstuffed Parisian apartment. Here’s the question: What can you tell me about the neighborhood?

I have looked at the address on Pages Jaune and Google maps, but I would love to hear first-hand accounts with people who are familiar with the address.

We live in a “colorful” neighborhood in NYC, so I am not one of those tourists looking for a sanitized experience. I would however like to feel safe walking home from the Metro at night – I would rather have a poorer neighborhood with people on the streets than a deserted upscale neighborhood. We will also be doing some eating in; I would prefer if we were close to a market.

The apartment is located at 16 Rue Clauzel:
http://tinyurl.com/3xx9gm

Thanks!

It appears you have to sign up as a member to see the location map so just for my 2 cents. I would not stay near the Pigalle Metro. The apartment looks nice except for the hand held shower thing. the price is certianly great. However since I don't know the xact location I can only say the area around Pigalle is not my favorite, Tends to be a bit dodgy, especially at night.

Oh, that's south of Pigalle, by place St Georges... it's quite nice, a normal neighborhood. We walked around a bit from the Gustave Moreau museum and up rue des Martyrs. I've got an article about rue des Martyrs being a great example of normal street in Paris, good shops, etc. Avenue Trudaine is a nice tree-line avenue, just off it is Square d'Anvers, a small church (I think) and a little playground and benches. - ok, I just did the 'satellite' view on google - no church and they've redone the little park and also added trees to blvd de Rochechouart.
Anyway, you could pretty much avoid the "Pigalle" effect by just not walking that way. Or just 'walk fast' as you go north on rue des Martyrs and cross blvd de Clichy to the Abbesses area, very reachable. Beautiful metro cover, and lots of sidewalk cafes..

Here is the "Slice of Life" article:
http://tinyurl.com/yph76q

That's a coveted area, close by the St. Georges Metro. Should be fine.

What a wonderful looking flat! Very well decorated for that price range. I've used Hoimelidays a couple of times (they are sort of like vrbo in that you will deal directly w/ the owner after the initial contact) - and this flat provides a lot more photos than most.

And if all the 5/5 ratings concern you that some are "faked" by the owner - not really possible. Homelidays contacts each renter afterwards and asks them for comments. The owners have nothing to do w/ it.

There are lots of ways an owner could generate fake renters, and thus generate fake feedback. I'm not saying it's done on a widespread basis, but it would not be that difficult.

Saint Georges is a very upscale neighborhood in the 9th.

The Pigalle area is perfectly safe, particularly due to the high (mostly undercover) police presence, just keeping an eye on all of the illicit activities and intervening when necessary.

Hi W,

Enter your address at www.pagesjaunes.fr and take a virtual tour of the neigborhood.

I would stay there in a heartbeat - although not shown on my map in EyeWitness Travel Guide, I noticed on PagesJaunes the very attractive restaurant area of Place Gustave Toudouze at the end of Rue Clauzel nearest Rue Monnier. Very nice to have when you just want dinner and bed after a hard day seeing the sights!

Thanks, so much! I thought the location looked lovely from the various photo maps. I'm going to book it!

This is a charming neighborhood. I have rented an apt. for 3 different 2 month stays just around the corner. Clauzel is a one block street that runs between rue Martyrs, which is one of the best, used to be secret(before the NYTimes article), market streets in Paris, and the pleasant little Square Gustave Toudouze with 4 restaurants/cafés and a lovely Wallace fountain.

Hi writerchicknyc, I too am looking for an apt for Nov. When will be you be staying in this apt? I'd love to hear your feedback. It does look very nice.
thank you,

I'm pleased to report that my husband and I just returned from a fabulous stay at the apartment.

The owner, Francoise, thought of everything. She spent time with us when we arrived to answer any questions we had. She wrote down what buses to take to the various sites we wanted to visit. She recommended nearby restaurants, too.

As some of the posters mentioned, the apt is located right off of the fabulous Rue des Martyrs. We had access to the most amazing food shops. I'm wistful thinking of the cheese, quiche, hot chocolate, and macarons we purchased steps from our front door.

The closest metro stop is the St. George, but we often walked up to Pigalle where there were more lines.

The apartment itself is spacious. The living room has two couches, a desk, and a small dining table. There is also a small table in the kitchen. The kitchen also has a stove, oven, small fridge, freezer, and combo washer/dryer - no microwave.

The toilet is separate from the bathroom, which is not terribly convenient, but I was familiar with the set-up from my first apartment in NYC. Hot water was plentiful and the bath tub was wonderfully deep.

I have no reservations about recommending this lovely apartment.

I'll post a full trip report soon.

Thank you all for your input!

Thanks for coming back with your feedback.

For others looking for apartments to rent in Paris, I have found something to suit our family on http://www.holidaystoeurope.com.au

I appreciate the review of the area, and I liked seeing the NYT article again, because we are staying not too far away.

Really enjoying your report! Thanks for taking the time to post it! pp