antbee

I'm meeting a friend in Paris, most likely for 10-12 days toward the end of October. We would like the convienence of an apartment, 2 beds, tub to shower, basic kitchen, balcony would be nice, and reasonable walk to a small market, and of course to a metro. Level of ambiance/comfort/charm plus safety are more important than location in that we are extensively familiar with Paris. Any/all suggestions will be welcomed. and especially email or web addresses. Thank you. Bethany

laurelt

I can highly recommend using rentparis.com. My family rented from them for a week recently and everything was great. They have lots of apartments in the Marais which would probably be a nice neighborhood for you and your friend.

http://www.rentparis.com/

Weadles

I have corresponded with a doctor from here who used to post on this forum. He and his wife own two apartments in Paris-- one in the southern half of the 5th arrondissement, a smaller one near the Eiffel Tower. Their website is:
LaCigaleParis.com

Good luck!

JeanneB

You lucky dog! (Hi, B!)

I think I may have logged every Paris apartment site on the web...in hopes of needing it one day.

Do you have a price range? Is walkup OK? As to beds, most places I can afford have a bedroom and sofabed arrangement. Some studios even just have two sofabeds. Would that be OK? I wouldn't prefer Montmarte, but there are lots of apartments there at reasonable prices.

If you can fill in some more, I'll search my files and see what I can find.

J

Patrick

This one is off limits for next July until I get it booked, OK?
We just returned from 8 nights in a very nice place on St. Germaine right between Rue Seine and Rue Buci. It is owned by a man in San Francisco and everything worked out beautifully. In fact I haven't been home a week yet and already received my full deposit back today in the mail.

See www.sant.com for a lot of information and quite a few accurate pictures. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. We will be renting it again for 12 nights next year (he offers a discount from the usual $200 a night for returning guests for stays of 12 or more nights).

SFDink

Hi Patrick,
I'm thinking about booking the sant.com for a week in November. The website contains a lot of information so I'm mainly looking to verify the accuracy of the website. Are the furnishings pretty new and in good shape? How's the bed? My husband has some back problems and a newer, firm matress makes a huge difference when traveling. Would you compare the apt to a 3 star or 4 star hotel in Paris in terms of the decor and quality?

This is my first time in Paris so the location seems ideal, very centrally located. The other places I was looking at are in the 3rd and 8th that are more upscale but this location seems better. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Patrick

This is a little tricky. I'm an interior designer who specializes in color -- lots of it, so the all white decor is not really my favorite. Furnishings are either new or decent "antiques". The bed was super comfortable -- quite firm, the way I like it. There were about a million pillows on the bed which went into a big pile in the corner till we left.

The apartment was surprisingly spacious. I especially loved the walk-in dressing room/closet area with lots of hanging space and lots of drawers. The rather dramatic tub has a wall mount shower, but no shower curtain, so there is a lot of spashing onto the rather elegant glass topped, wood vanity, with the brushed stainless sink -- a fair amount of "wipe-down" time daily. The water closet is rather oddly places, away from the bathroom, off the hall, but we quickly got used to that.

I would say it was certainly equal to or better than Hotel Le Regent, Hotel Left Bank, or Hotel St. Severin which I think are all three star hotels I've stayed in, in the same area.

The stairway, and miniature elevator are not very luxurious, but are at least kept clean. The location can't be beat in my opinion. I also liked the fact that the bedroom was on the back to the courtyard, so no noise if the windows were open, but the living room had two nice large windows facing a great view across St. Germain and right up Rue de Four.

SFDink

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for the info. That's good to know about the bed and the lack of noise in the bedroom. Since the owner doesn't live in Paris did you have any problems checking in/out with the property manager?

This will be my first time to Paris so can you tell me more about the location of the apt. I know it's in the St. Germain district which seems to be the most centrally located and a favorite for many people. Since walking times are difficult to judge on a map, do you know how long it would take to walk to some of the more remote attractions (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe). I know I can take the subway but I usually prefer to walk and just wanted to know if this is feasible.

The other area of town I was thinking about staying in is the Marais, just south of the Place de la Republique. Have you stayed in that area and can you compare the two? Thanks again for all your help!

Patrick

First about checking in. We were given the name of an "agent" a delightful woman whom we called the day before to set up a time to meet at the apartment. We arrived a little earlier than planned and she was already there. I guess she is a real estate agent in Paris -- not associated with the apartment building. She showed us how everything worked and gave us her cell phone in case we had any questions. A couple of days later she called and left a message on the answering maching just to check on us. I returned the call to say everything was fine.

Walking times are so difficult, but good for you for walking. I gave up long ago buying any transportation passes -- we just don't use the metro or busses enough to make them worthwhile, but we do buy carnets of tickets for when we want to use it.

I'd guess (and trust me this is a guess only) you could walk to the Eiffel Tower in about 30 to 40 minutes. We never do, we usually take more time than that. And you can walk to Arc de Triomphe in about 45 minutes, maybe a little more. The only suggestion I have is to always give yourself lots of extra time to walk anywhere, you will always see things that will make you want to linger.

We have spent some time in the Republique area -- several good restaurants around there, but I wouldn't stay there over the St. Germaine area. (Although it is less touristy for those who worry about such things).

SFDink

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for all the great information. I feel much more comfortable renting an unseen apt with all this information. Thanks again!