bakeryday

Hi there!

People on the Italy and France boards have been really helpful. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some quick feedback on two Paris VRBOs.

My partner and I will be in Paris for three weeks in July-Aug. We both work from home on laptops while we travel. One of our pleasures in visiting Paris will be exploring Patricia Wells's favorite restaurant picks: http://www.patriciawells.com/restaurant_picks

Many of these are located in the 6th, 7th, and 11th Arrondissements.

Here are the two flats we're considering:

Metro Hotel de Ville, 2BR/1BA, 485 sq ft: http://www.vrbo.com/106316
Metro Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, 2BR/2BA, 1200 sq ft: http://www.vrbo.com/290491

I'm inclined to go with the Arrondissement 9 flat because I love space, but am wondering if all the metro-riding to get to dinner is going to be a drag.

Any quick responses would be much appreciated!

avalon

The rue de Rivoli area is much more convenient and lots of good transportation options close by. Several buses run along Rivoli in addition to the metro. Do you really need a 2 bedroom?

bakeryday

@ avalon, yes, we need a 2BR. Accepting that criterion, does anyone else have helpful feedback?

Judy

I would want air-conditioning that time of year, especially if you think you'd be spending any amount of time in the apartment.

tdk320n

The Marais is a 3rd floor walkup. This actuaually means 4th floor. If this is not a problem for you I would suggest this apartment for the location.

bakeryday

Ok, thank you all for the feedback.

Mimar

The Marais option is in a busy area. We stayed in an apartment near there last May and found the streets and sidewalks crowded. We would have preferred a quieter, more residential area. But others love to be in the center of the action. And it certainly is convenient for transportation.

I can't help you with your other choice. Have you used Google streetview to "walk" along the streets? (Select and and drag the little orange man.) You used to be able to do this (see the streetscape) at www.pagesjaunes.fr but I haven't been able to do it of late.

Christina

I've stayed in the 9th a couple times and like it, although not in that particular location, more near St Georges metro. Rue Lamartine is a little bigger than where I prefer to stay. In any case, I don't understand your comment about the metro riding, why would there be any more of it from there than the other location? Neither one is in the 6/7 or 11 arrondisements which is where you said you want to go. Now it is true the NDdeL and Cadet stops are not on a direct line to St Germain, you'll have to transfer, but that's true for the Hotel de Ville metro stop near the other one, also. That one would be closer to the 11th, though.

In any case, I wouldn't let that affect your decision as the Cadet metro stop isn't very far out.

bakeryday

@Christina and Mimar -- thank you for this feedback. It's very helpful. When I'm shlogging through all of these apartment listings, I get a bit loopy on my logic.

We are considering a place now in Arrondissement 14 on line 4 metro:

http://www.vrbo.com/352149

It's very small, but I am charmed by the pictures and description. It sounds quiet, but very convenient.

If you have any feedback on this one, it would be much appreciated.

Mimar

This last apartment looks very small. Seems like they built the kitchen in the middle of the living room. So the kitchen and dining table take up most of the room. There's one little sofa crammed into a corner, a shelf with TV on the other side of the room behind the table. It's hard to imagine 4 people in this space. Do you know the square footage? (Meterage?)

bakeryday

@ Mimar -- yes, it is petit (57m2), but we are just two people. And it's a great deal and looks to be in a charming neighborhood across from a line 4 metro stop.

Turns out my flat was unavailable after all and the other was just too tiny (45m2). Have been through so many options, so I'm hoping this will work.

Thanks, all, for the feedback.