Stephanie333

Hi there,

My husband and I are looking for an apartment in Paris the week of December 20-December 27. We will have our 3 year old daughter with us.

Any ideas on a location? I’m not an expert on the Arrondissements.

Any service you recommend besides vrbo.com?

Any help would be most appreciated!

Thanks! Stephanie

danon

I have been in touch with
www.vacationinparis.com
about a possible rental this summer.
They have been very helpful and professional.

cathies

http://www.alacarte-paris-apartments.com/index.shtml. We rented through them in 2006 and they were great, although possibly a bit expensive. Even made all the arrangements to find a dentist when I broke a tooth. We stayed in the 6th that time (on the left bank) and this time are staying in an apartment in the 5th. This time we booked through http://www.parisbestlodge.com and have read good things about them on this forum.

Stephanie333

Thanks for the help! Most appreciated!!

dawnnoelm

stephanie - what did you end up with? We are going to be in Paris the at the same time.

gdinla

We stayed in Montepulciano last fall. It's known as the Pearl of the Renaissance. It's pretty large w/ several restaurants and even a supermarket. We rented an apartment on the southern edge with beautiful views of the countryside. The town is a little severe - all grey stone bldgs., but that's fairly normal in hilltowns as they were basically fortresses. Some wonderful architecture though. The town is built along a ridgeline that climbs upwards quite steeply. Getting around is fairly strenuous. It's centrally located, which made it a good base for exploring the region, but also only about 15 minutes from the major north-south autostrada A1.
Pienza's lovely and we had a wonderful lunch at Terrazza del Chiostro. Drowning in honeyed sunshine looking out toward Monte Amiata. But Pienza has some newer buildings quite close to the historic area and it's a little small, still a favorite place of mine because of the perfect Renaissance square and gorgeous views.
Siena is a bit overbearing w/very tall buildings, narrow streets and lots of hustle-bustle but love the Duomo and the Piazza del Campo.
Montalcino is another major town. It's also fairly severe, but there are some park areas. I had a sense that it was much higher up and isolated than the other towns and in October/November there were some chilly winds.
San Querico D'orcia was a sweet little town that's very central and close to the SR2 highway. As for sites of interest, we really enjoyed Bagno Vignoni, Monte Oliveto Maggiore and San Anselmo.
To make your choice even more difficult, you could consider staying in a villa or inn that's near a town or towns. Probably a prettier setting than a hilltown but you will have to drive home after dinner...