I would say the tram 3b was not quite running normally, with the impromptu route changes (which were unknown to the RATP website and app). It was also always insanely crowded. My daughter swore that she rode most of the way once without her feet touching the ground. I myself preferred the bus, which was never as crowded as the tram, and was not always slow.

The apartment in Bagnolet (Paris Express) was very nice, in fact one of the nicest apartments I've ever rented. The kitchen was wonderful, and well stocked with all those little things you usually have to buy when renting a short-stay apartment: salt and pepper, sugar, olive oil, tea, and coffee. It wouldn't have been at all too far from the center, had it not been for the strike. The neighbourhood had plenty of shops and two good restaurants. One (Le Soleil de Kabylie) looked like a bit of a dive, and we were the only customers that night, but we had a very good meal there. The other, La Fleur des Lilas, was a nice neighborhood place, with a "molto simpatico" chef. We ate dinner there three times, and by then we were taking selfies with the chef, trading social media contacts, and we went home with a bottle of olive oil from his olive grove in Algeria, and a bag of his grandma's herbal tea.

Even though I can commiserate with your disappointment of not being able to go into Paris as easily as you would have preferred, I am glad that you had the opportunity to discover how nice neighbourhood places can be, even unexpectedly;

I am sorry you had to walk so much. It has been a bit of a pain with my husband this trip. Hoping his Doctor convinces him to get back surgery. We will be in Paris in May so who knows what will be going on then. Glad we chose Germany and Dublin. We leave in the morning but Christmas in Europe has been fun. Nice about the chef. He was probably happy to have the business. I read they have been hurting.

I will always stay within walking distance of the Louvre when visiting Paris.

Thin,aristocrat 🚅

Oh, not IN the Louvre?

No, not in the Louvre. I am a British aristocrat, not a French one.

Thin,aristocrat 🎈

For various reasons, staying near the Louvre was not a possibility for our group of seven. One of my daughters and her spouse arrived a few days ahead of us, and they stayed in the Hotel Palais Royal until we arrived.

The location was fine for most of us, who don't mind walking. For the daughter who arrived early, it was more of a problem, because she has a slight motor disability. In fact, they considered returning to the Palais Royal, but they decided they'd rather be with the rest of us.

Was the major reason financial?

Financial concerns were part of the decision, but I wouldn't say they were the major consideration. The main reason was that it's not easy to find an apartment for seven people, and finding a legal one is even more difficult.

Then, we were splitting the cost between three families. One of my daughters is an underpaid university professor, so I wanted to keep the cost within her reach. My second choice was an aparthotel in the 19th, but we would have had to split up into two apartments, and the cost was €1000 more per week (€333 per family). It wasn't even much more central than Bagnolet. For a few weeks, I had actually reserved both places, and we had a number of discussions in our family, and on this forum.

In the end, the apartment in Bagnolet was more spacious, looked nicer, and had better reviews. And was much less expensive.