Hello all! My family is looking to rent an apartment this summer for a week in Paris. We plan on visiting the touristy sites: Louvre, Notre Dame, etc etc; and have narrowed down our apartment options (via airbnb.com) to two places. One is in Pere Lachaise on Boulevard de Ménilmontant; the other is on Rue de la Tour d'Auvergne, by Rue des Martyrs.

I've heard good AND bad things about Pere-Lachaise; with some saying that it's a straight up working-class hole and no tourist goes there, and for good reasons. Others say that it's an amazing neighborhood devoid of the swarms of tourists seen elsewhere and that there's a huge amount of amazing cafes, etc. there.

Personally I am fine with staying anywhere, but I'm concerned to take my parents and sister to an area that might potentially be unsafe. We're looking for a minimum of nightlife (little noise) and an area that we can stroll around and explore during the mornings; so with interesting cafes, etc; as well as accessibility.

Just looking for opinions on Pere Lachaise, and Pere Lachaise vs. St. Georges area; which one is more preferable for a first time family vacation to Paris?

Either would be fine with me, although I think I would prefer the Père Lachaise area, because it is indeed an amazing neighborhood. Saint Georges is fine, but it is totally traditional with nothing 'amazing' to discover.

Well, I do hope you don't plan to stay IN Père Lachaise The neighborhood is called Ménilmontant, and I am totally in love with it. I don't know that I'd want to be right on the Boul. Ménilmontant, though, unless it were an inward-facing apartment, as that's a busy street. Not sure what you mean about accessibility - does someone have mobility issues? Or are you just referring to the general accessibility of cafés and stores, etc.? If the latter, there are plenty. If the former, you might want to know that the neighborhood is a little bit hilly. It is completely safe, though, as is almost anywhere in Paris.

Personally I am fine with staying anywhere, but I'm concerned to take my parents and sister to an area that might potentially be unsafe>

walked around that area many times and in no way felt unsafe - an ethnically diverse area some store signs were even in Chinese!

I would disagree with the statement that any area in Paris is completely safe - very safe but obviously not completely safe - that is just not possible anywhere.

I've stayed in the St Georges area a couple times and really like it. I don't think there are amazing things around there, no, but it is certainly not a tourist hotbed, either, most people in the nearby neighborhoods, bars, etc., are not tourists. But it is pretty central and so easy to get to other places from there, also. I think the word amazing is just being used to mean anything kind of nice that you like, that's the way young people I know use it. I really like the St Georges area, I'd choose it. I haven't spent that much time around Pere Lachaise, but it's just a lot farther out.

There is a nice pedestrian market street near St Georges (rue des Martyrs), and the area between Ste Trinite church up to place Blanche is nice, lots of places to eat and cafes, and some theaters.

St Georges area is IMO much better located from a walking standpoint to many neat sites - right in the heart of central Paris - Pere Lachaise more remote.

well, that's what I would think, also. I did walk once from Montreuil to the Bastille area, as I was visiting Montreuil, and thought that would be a good walk (along rue Menilmontant and then Oberkampf). It was, but you wouldn't do that usually, I had plenty of time to kill and no special agenda. Parc de Belleville is nice, also. There are lots of interesting streets south of the cemetery.

So both areas would be okay in certain regards.

St. George will be my Metro stop in a couple weeks. I've stayed near there before, though, and have wandered plenty in that area (friends live nearby). I love it. In addition to the Rue des Martyrs already mentioned, there's a great market on the Place d'Anvers Friday afternoons, if that's of any interest.

Gambetta is an excellent transportation hub for buses. The rue des Pyrénées market is fantastic and huge (people would not go to that silly Bastille market if they knew about this one).

There are lots of neat areas near Pere LaChaise - like Parc Buttes-Chaumont - to me one of the most interesting and unique parks in Paris and also the canal to la Villette is neat to walk along - but these are things veteran tourists are more likely to do than first timers - but nothing in central Paris inside the ring road is really that remote as central Paris is not that big - I have walked everywhere from everywhere.

Wow, PalenQ, that isn't what I have been reading on the thread that is making Montmartre sound like the end of the world, even for visitors in their early 20's.

"We're looking for a minimum of nightlife (little noise)"

Can't get any quieter than Pere Lachaise.

And yet the remarkable Flèche d'Or café is not far away.
http://www.flechedor.fr/

We stayed near the place on Menilmontant and liked the area. Would not characterize it as a "hole" but certainly not posh, either, nor did we ever feel unsafe. There's a lovely little park on rue de la Roquette just below the cemetery.

Have not stayed in the St Georges area but did help niece book a studio in that area (Av Trudaine near r. des Martyrs) for several weeks' stay last summer and she really liked it. It's a bit livelier neighborhood than the Menilmontant area.

I'd want to look at the actual properties to decide between the two. If price and amenities were similar I'd probably go for St Georges because I want to try the area.

Thank you so much for the kind responses, everyone! And yes, we are actually NOT staying in the cemetery, though that would be quite the experience; the apartment is on a very big street in Menilmontant!

In terms of accessibility, I meant "to other tourist attractions, etc". I know that the metro is not that convenient from Menilmontant but I heard there are many buses that will do the trick! Just curious: what does everyone mean by "cool things to discover?" Are there lots of interesting shops, cafes, etc in Menilmontant that one can't find in St. Georges?

And does anyone have an opinion on Rue des Martyrs? It is right by the apartment we are looking at, and it seems that there are quite a number of good food shops/cafes?

Oh I see someone already answered my question about Rue des Martyrs! The St. Georges apartment is a little bit more expensive than the Menilmontant one, but bigger; at this point, I'd be fine staying in either one thanks to all your help!

The only "problem" with the Saint Georges area is that the 9th arrondissement is where almost all of the insurance companies in Paris are located, having taken over blocks and blocks of Haussmannian buildings and making quite a bit of the arrondissement dead at night.