Bonjour,
Having a tough time deciding between areas. Have narrowed down to 4 apartment options but not knowing Paris well unsure which way to go- we will be there for a week in February.Like markets, cafes, bookstores, bohemian, not pretensious but not too crazy as we're not in our 20's anymore!do need some sleep!
1) 7e corner rue de Grenelle&Blvd Raspail
2) 3e 45 Rue Charlot 3) 11e Ledru Rollin at Place Voltaire 4) 15e 30 Ave. Suffren
Thank you!

Hi cm,

You can look up your addresses at www.pagesjaune.fr and take a tour of the neighborhood.

Rue Granelle is only a tight 2-lane street that gets REALLY quiet at night.

Also, the 7th is perfect for everything you're looking for, and you're just steps from the Eiffel Tower.

We stayed on Rue Cler/Rue Granelle in the Hotel Grand Leveque and really enjoyed our stay.

Happy travels.

Jules

I might add that the #69 bus runs east to the Orsay and Louvre all the way to Pere La Chaise cemetery from Rue St. Dominque (just north of Granelle), and if you walk wast towards the Eiffel Tower to Rue Bosquet, you'll find the 92 runs north and south on Bosquet -- to the Arc de Triomphe all the way to Montmartre.

Love the 7th. Live in the 7th.

Jules

We stayed a week (also in February) in a wonderful little apartment in a building next to Place des Vosges, just at the corner of the Place. It had a small balcony looking directly into the Place. This is one of the loveliest and most harmonious squares you will ever find. It's very close to the Bastille metro stop, plenty of restaurants (bakery next door!) and sevices nearby (we cooked, too), and the neighborhood was pretty quiet. It is next to the lively Marais if you want some neat shops and the Rue des Rosiers, the old Jewish Quarter. The Italian woman who owns tha apt has several in different areas of town. Here is a link to her website and the apt we rented was "one bedroom apt at Place des Vosges". And the prices were VERY reasonable. She also has a studio in the same building ( but no balcony) and another place down the block (rue de Jarente), as well as other flats around town. I have spent a lot of time in Paris and this Bastille/Marais area is delightful and convenient.

http://www.parislineflats.com/

I don't know 1 or 4 particularly well. From the map, 4 looks as though it's on a main road, very near the Champ de Mars. I would guess it's more posh than bohemian, but I may be wrong.

I think you'd find rue Charlot much the quietest. It's not a particularly bohemian area, but you are about 10-15 minutes walk from the heart of the Marais, which is probably the kind of area you're thinking of. You're also quite a walk from a metro station.

3 is on a busy traffic cross-roads, but there are plenty of restaurants in the area, again about 10-15 minutes walk from the Marais, and about 600m from a metro station.

Here is a picture of Place des Vosges with some commentary about its excellence as a public space. BTW, we did not see too many people lying around soaking up the sun in Feb...just a few people chatting and strolling babies, that kind of thing.

http://www.pps.org/gps/one?public_place_id=41


Place des Vosges

I'm with Patrick. Would not expect the 7th to be "bohemian." Reading your preferences, I think of the 5th.

I'd rule out no. 4, it's not remotely Bohemian. I don't think it has some of the other things, either -- like bookstores. I wonder what kind of bookstores you want.

I read an article somewhere recently, can't recall -- maybe in a Paris newspaper, that rue Charlot was getting to be the epicenter of trendy in that particular neighborhood. I don't think of place Voltaire as exactly bohemian or full of bookstores, either. That's not a bad area for some things, but I personally might want to stay in 1 or 2 instead, which would be my top choices.

I don't know if you will bother to read your post again but I stayed in the studio on Rue Charlot in June. It was a wonderful experience and a quiet area. We are walkers and were able to walk to most of the major sites . The managers of the apartment were so helpful and responded to every call. We plan to rent the apt again next summer. We have friends on the street and it was fun having them whistle from the street whenever they passed by and saw our windows open. If you have any questions , please do not hesitate to write. I'll watch the postings.

I forgot to tell you. I rented from PARIS RENT.COM and stayed at 34 Rue Charlot.

Sorry, its RENTPARIS.COM....

To: nmlhats
You recently posted a response to my email about Paris apartments. Are you still out there? I would like to correspond regarding the one with balcony near Place des Vosges as she has emailed me it is available. I find it hard to tell from the photos much about it.
http://www.parislineflats.com/vosges4eng.htm
In case anyone else has stayed here and would like to respond. Thank you!