Please help me find a "nice" apt in Paris--part 2
 

Thanks to those of you who have been kind enough to help me out with searching for an apartment in Paris that is affordable, in an interesting neighborhood with small shops etc. Here is what I have come up with that is in my price range and available for my dates next month (this part is harder than I thought it would be). Are any of these areas much preferable to others? We'd like an area we can feel comfortable walking in and that has a neighborhood feel where local people will be in the restaurants and shops.

This is probably my first choice for the combo of space and price, and I have talked with some people who stayed there. My only concern is that they never walked any further east than the apartment, so I have no idea what that is like there.

http://www.vrbo.com/43745
12th 46m Bastille metro
Cour du Bel Air, 56 rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine (on a courtyard off of Faubourg, just NE of Hopital de Quinze Vingts) opposite side of Rue de Charonne

Here are some that I don’t have any strong feelings about one way or another. Should some of these be eliminated or some favored?

http://vacation.apartment-paris.com/...eau-Apartment/
12th 36m
Rue Moreau Bastille metro
adjacent to (SE) Hopital de Quinze Vingts

http://vacation.apartment-paris.com/...cfe30721665820
4th 27m
Rue du Petit Music (1 block west of Henri IV) Bastille metro

GreatRentals.com
http://www.greatrentals.com/France/21015.html

15th 35m
rue Miollis (south of Garibaldi and several blocks east of the Cambronne metro)
Cambronne metro


This is the most costly, and I don’t really know if the location is all that much better that it is worth the extra money.
5th 40m
http://www.bed-and-breakfast-in-pari...m1300000000100
rue de l'Essai (off Blvd. St Marcel and a block or 2 SE of Jardin de Plantes)
St. Marcel

To those of you who really know Paris, thanks so much.

One more thought. This is a boat on the Seine, and it is available for our dates. May be crazy in March though. How's the neighborhood?

http://www.vrbo.com/82128

Here's what the site says, "Elegant 38 foot long, 14 foot wide little trawler on the Seine, moored between the Pont de la Concorde and the magnificent Pont Alexandre III, in the Port des Champs Elysees. It is within walking distance of the Jardin des Tuileries, the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees."

We spend a lot of time on the water at home, so this is rather intriguing.

Thanks.

julies, what a coincidence. I walked around parts of the 12th last weekend, including the area where your first two possibilities are. From a neighbourhood point of view, I think the west side of Canal St Martin (in the 4th) is nicer than the area immediately around rue du Faubourg St-Antoine.

So, assuming the apartments are comparable, I'd opt for rue de Petit Musc (no "i").

The apartment I am in right now is on rue Mornay (between Canal St-Martin and boulevard Henri IV). I have been walking up Henri IV to Place de la Bastille every day, and also through Village St-Paul to get to rue St-Antoine ... very nice neighbourhood. There are many restaurants and cafés in the area, and bakers, butchers, fruit and vegetable stores, as well as a couple of grocery stores. I have walked back to my apartment as late as 12:30 at night without concern. The Sully-Morland Metro stop is closest for me, but I regularly use the Bastill stop if I want to get on Line 1.

I have also walked along rue du Petit Musc, but can't remember anything in particular about it. I'll sweep by there tomorrow and post. (By the way, the posting part may be easier said than done; I'm using a free wireless signal that is extremely tempermental. If I can't post I'll call my wife in Canada and get her to post the information.)

Anselm

julies,
I looked on pagesjaune. rue petit music is a little drab in parts, but based on my admittedly hazy memory, that would still probably be my pick. Cute apartment, too.

Reasonably priced--maybe you'll save enough $ that you and your husband will decide to spend a lot of euros on an expensive meal. ;)

Enjoy Paris.

Never stayed at the Bastille, even though it's supposedly and up and coming area.

The trendy area is the 4th but I've preferred the 6th, mostly nearer the river, not on the border of the 14th.

On the houseboat, it might be noisy with the bateau mouches. Don't know for sure but I would think it would be. Plus those streets running along the Seine always have cars speeding by.

There is something to be said for being on high floor of a building (as long as there's an elevator if you plan to walk around a lot).

Thanks. Keep the comments coming. I really appreciate the help. The first apartement I listed, right off of rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine, is the most spacious (something to think about since we will be in it 11 nights), but I'd probably trade off the space for a neighborhood that is truly much nicer. We want a decent ambience with street market possibilities, nice neighborhood shops (fromageries, charcuteries, & boulangerie) and some inexpensive restaurants that locals would eat in.

I don't know the other areas, but I just spent the weekend right around the corner from the Rue du Petit Musc, and loved the neighborhood. Very quiet, yet literally only a block or two away from bustling streets; lots of nearby shops (everything from clothes and housewares and books to fromagerie and bakeries and and wine stores); cafes and bars and little restaurants filled with locals; not touristy at all. It is where I will try to stay in Paris from now on.

Julies, I just walked past your first three options. Here are a few observations that might help you decide:

The rue de Petit Musc is narrow and quiet. The rental property is at #21. It’s a small three-storey building; the lower floor is a shop, which appears to be vacant at the moment. Looking at the web site you provided, I’d say that the flat itself is tiny. I wouldn’t hesitate to stay on that street, and all of the amenities you are looking for are within a five to ten minute walk.

Personally, I’d drop rue Moreau from the running. It’s a characterless street, with buildings on one side and the hospital on the other. Definitely quiet, but as I mentioned in my post yesterday, that area just isn’t as attractive as the 4th. I also looked at the pictures on the web site and the flat left me a bit cold. Very cramped, and that TV mounted up on the wall makes me think of TS Eliot’s “one-night cheap hotels …”

The third place, at 56 rue de la Faubourg Saint-Antoine, is very close to Place de la Bastille, and the photos on the web site suggest that it is the largest of the three. The door to the courtyard was closed, so I couldn’t look in. Although that street does not appeal to me as much as some others, I can see how that apartment is your first choice. A word of advice, though: confirm whether the flat is inside the courtyard or whether it overlooks rue de la Faubourg Saint-Antione. If the latter, I would think street noise would be an issue. As with rue de Petit Musc, all the amenities are very close by.

I’m not sure whether the place I am staying in is available when you are traveling, but it is vrbo #24464. The rate is €700 a week at this time of year.

If you do decide to stay near Bastille, I can suggest a few restaurants and cafés in the area.

Anselm

You could try holiday-rentals.com, property #8004. It is a very central location near lots of great shops and a metro stop. It is near the corner of Rue Du Bac and Boulevard St. Germain. Very reasonable rates. We stayed there in June 04 and it worked out well for our family.

AnselmAdome - looks like you are staying just down the street from the place we rented on Rue Mornay (www.paris-vacation-rental.com/neighbor2.html) and we really liked the neighborhood, too. It is quiet but close to all the conveniences.

ttt

Anselm Adorne--

I can't believe you took the time to walk by and check out neighborhoods for a complete stranger. The one at 56 Rue du Faubourg St Antoine is actually on something called the Cour du BelAire which is an interior courtyard, and it overlooks this interior courtyard. What exactly about the street and neighborhood wasn't as appealing? The apt. you're in now is listed as fully booked until June 1.

Seamus and lfarrow--I sent e-mails to check both of those out. They look to be a little more than I've been quoted for the ones I'm considering, but we'll see.

another website, www.slowtrav.com, Slow Travel, will have a lot of information, although it looks like you've got plenty here.

Jilies,

The boat moored on the Seine sounds neat to me, mostly because I lived on our own boat just there many years ago. A caution, however. You can expect quite a bit of rolling, as she is apparently moored outside other boats, and the wake of passing commercial vessels can be expected to roll your bed and bang you against the other boat throughout the night. Even the squeak of fenders from river currents moving the boat can keep you awake. The other problem is that you will have to climb over other vessels to get aboard as she is tied to the outside.

Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

:-)

Hi julies. Just back from an organ recital at St-Eustache. I was planning on walking back, but it was just starting to sprinkle a few drops of rain, so I took the Metro.

So that place on rue de la Faubourg Saint-Antoine is in the courtyard; it should be quiet, then. I must say I liked the interior photographs of that place the best.

It is very hard to describe subtleties of neighbourhoods. I guess I’d put it this way: I think the areas around Bastille have become more attractive in the last few years. Money flows in, and certain types of shops, restaurants, and cafés open up, reflecting the clientele. I’d say that street is undergoing the same transformation, but just isn’t quite as far along.

However, it’s not unattractive, and I’d say it’s as safe as the street I’m staying on. There’s a little restaurant right beside your door on one side and a clothing store, I think it was, on the other. There’s a Starbucks across the street, which I’d say is pretty good indication of the shape of things to come. I should also have mentioned that rue de la Roquette, which is just around the corner from that apartment, has lots of amenities, too.

Seamus, very close indeed. My building is number 4, and I had noticed that building you stayed in.

Anselm

Once again, I can't believe what an incredible help you have been with this process. Thanks to you I have at least narrowed down my choices. Based on your comments, I've eliminated several of the apartments. The boat idea, intriguing as it was, is now gone. And, I followed up on some of your other apartment suggestions, but none worked out.

From my original list, these I am still deciding between.

1. http://www.vrbo.com/43745
12th 46 sq m Bastille metro
Cour du Bel Air, 56 rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine (on a courtyard off of Faubourg, just NE of Hopital de Quinze Vingts) opposite side of Rue de Charonne

2. http://vacation.apartment-paris.com/...cfe30721665820
4th 27 sq m
Rue du Petit Musc (1 block west of Henri IV) Bastille metro

3. 15th 35 sq m
rue Miollis (south of Garibaldi and several blocks east of the Cambronne metro)

GreatRentals.com
http://www.greatrentals.com/France/21015.html


I've also run into 2 new possibilities I'm considering. I'm still waiting to get confirmation of dates, but from their website calendars it seems as though they are availble.

4. This is a block away from Place des Vosges. From what I've read that seems like quite a nice location. But, maybe I'm wrong.
http://www.parisattitude.com/apartme...numProduit=674

5. Here is another one that is in "Gobelins Salpitrieres area of the 13th arrondissement, bordering the southern edge of the 5th arrondissement." 17 Blvd. Arago

http://rentalo.com/96088/myplace.html

Another quick question for those of you who really know Paris. I've been reading Patricia Wells book "The Food Lover's Guide to Paris", and I've been reading about the various markets. One of the reasons we want an apartment is to take advantage of the markets.

As I see it, #1 would be close to the Beauvau market at Place d'Aligre. # 5 would be close to the Rue Mouffetard market. The others I don't know about as far as markets. Or maybe thinking about locating close to a permanent nice market isn't that important.

I appreciate all the help I've gotten, and if you've got any more comments, I'd appreciate them.

Julie,
I'm a pretty big walker, so I'd consider #1, #2 and #4 as "close" to the market at Place Aligre. #2 and #4 are actually very close to each other--you can see rue Petit Musc on the map provided on the #4 link. We walked several times to Place Aligre from an apartment we stayed at on Ile Saint Louis towards Pont Sully. And this was in the dead of winter. I wish I could remember how long the walk was, but we just enjoyed it so much it seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.

I don't "really know" Paris very well, but for some reason have gravitated towards the area you're considering.

Good luck.

julies, that place on rue Pas de la Mule is perfectly situated. I have walked many times along that street in the last 12 days and love it. It has a great atmosphere and all of the services you'll want are very close. The only downside: it's a walk-up on the "4th French floor," which means it's five flights of stairs. My wife wouldn't be happy with that, but I'd do it for that location!

About the markets: we love shopping in markets but our experience has been that we can get comparable produce at specialty shops, of which there are plenty around the Bastille area. However, having said that, the market at Place d'Aligre is daily, and it's within walking distance of either the place near rue de la Faubourg Saint Antoine or the new find at Place de Voges. There is also the marché volant on boulevard Richard Lenoir at Bastille every Sunday and Thursday morning.

You are going to love this trip, I can tell.

Anselm

I don't care for that area on St-Antoine, as I stated in my other post so I won't go into that again -- but the market at place d'Aligre isn't really the same atmosphere and types of goods as in many other parts of the city. Maybe that will suit you fine, but also be sure to check out the quality of some of the stuff there as it may not be as fresh or as good as in some other areas. There is an excellent market on bd Lenoir running off just north of place de la Bastille, though. It's not daily, but Sundays and Thursdays. I don't think you want to go to a market every day, anyway, so that could be sufficient. I think it's a lot better than Aligre (which isn't every day, either, although most days--closed Mondays). There is another roving market in that area, also, on ave Ledru Rollin going south from the Promenade Plantee--that is Thurs. and Saturdays.

Now I do like the Gobelins neighborhood, and I personally prefer it to those ares you are considering near the Bastille (the Moreau one as well as the one on Cour de Bel Air). There is the permanent market street of Mouffetard, of course, but also several other roving markets on various days in the 13th -- such as the one on August Blanqui going west (Tu, Fri, Sun) as well as place Monge, of course, up in the 5th. There are a couple others on ave d'Italie and Tolbiac area, but they aren't really that close to bd Arago that you'd probably go there, anyway. There are plenty of regular food shops in that area, anyway, that you don't have to focus on roving markets.

Thanks again. I guess I don't need to be concerned about being close to a market.

So, I think I am hearing that the neighborhoods west of Place de la Bastille are better than east, meaning the apartments on Rue du Petit Musc or the place very near Place des Vosges for this more northerly location. No one has commented on the one in the 15th on rue Miollis near Cambronne metro, so I'm assuming that probably has nothing in particular to recommend it, and I will delete that idea. Then there is the area Christina likes near the Goeblins.

Of these 2 areas, near Goeblins and the area west of the Bastille, which one has the most of a real neighborhood feel and would be mosts peaceful? Or, at this point is it six of one and half a dozen of the other, and I should just choose based on which apartment is the nicest and most attractively priced? Thanks again.