CATraveler, welcome home and thanks for your follow up! glad the apartment worked out well, always goo to hear a sucess story. Is a trip report in the works?

Welcome home CaTraveler. When you recover from jetlag please give a trip report about your stay in Paris. I am renting an apartment on rue Mouffetard in June and would love to hear of your experiences in the area. Any restaurants or activities in the Mouff area that you particularly enjoyed?

I can recommend
L'Ourcine
L'Avant Gout
30-40 Euro/ per person not including wine.
they are 1 and 2 metro stops away resp,
use page.jaunes.fr to get their phone numbers and maps. Make reservations, They were both full the meals we went. They took reservations in English fine even though the other customers all speak French , and some smokes.

The best deal we ran into was at
Le Reminet, on Left bank across from Notre Dame.
We had 13 Euro lunches there twice, equivalent experience to 40-60 USD places in San Francisco Bay area.

My husband and I just returned from our trip to Paris and had a great experience with renting an apartment.

Ours was a studio apartment in the 2nd arrondisement and it allowed us more space and comfort, plus the chance to live like Parisians. It was very clean and modern, and recently renovated. There was no problem with security. We met our neighbours a few times and they were always very friendly.

Although the apartment wasn't located in the usual tourist districts, we found it quite easy to get around with a city and metro map. We could get to most sights in Paris without having to change trains more than twice.

We were also 5 minutes walk from a fabulous street market on Rue Montorgueil and that soon became our favourite haunt before dinner. Rather than eat out every night, it was easy to buy a roast chicken, baguette, salad and pastries to feast on in the comfort of our own place.

All things considered, I would thoroughly recommend renting an apartment in Paris. We initially chose it because it was cheaper than all other options available but it proved to be a good decision after our budget hotel experience in London (at twice the price!). Just one word of caution: the apartment experience would be ideal if you are prepared to be quite independent as you're very much on your own. We speak a little French and armed with a guidebook + phrasebook were able to DIY most things.

ps - we booked our stay with David Flandin and this is the apartment: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/hom...p?home_id=2686

Oops, Re: post above:

Forgot to mention that we paid 350 Euros for the week, which is US$440.

Retrobabe,
We will be in the same area in a couple of weeks staying in an apt. on rue Pierre Lescot, just off Etienne Marcel. I would love any recommendations of favorite places you found to eat, buy groceries, bakeries, shops, etc. Appreciatively, MAP

MAP,

I'll make a list and post it for you soon! :)

Hi MAP,

Sorry for the delay as it's been a hectic 2 days since getting back from our trip.

Our apartment was located a few streets away from yours, so my recommendations may be located a little further out from your area.

1) The market on Rue Montorgueil.
Absolutely great if you want a cheaper DIY meal at any time of the day (I believe they close at 7 pm). Easy to buy items such as roast chicken, salads, breads, pastries and cheese to take back to your apartment for a picnic.

2) Monoprix supermarket (usually one around every block or so)
- handy for the little things. I bought a bag of their pain au chocolats and it lasted me for a week! Tasted almost if not just as good as the ones in cafes. Easily warmed up in the toaster in the mornings if you want to sleep in.

3) Restaurant 'Jules'
62 rue Jean Jacques Rousseau. Traditional French cuisine. We found this restaurant recommendation in Let's Go Paris and ventured there for my birthday dinner. It is a charming little restaurant with friendly, English-speaking staff who are happy to help translate the menu and make recommendations. Desserts were beautiful; I had the creme brulee set in 3 flavours - lavender, vanilla and ginger.

These next two recommendations are a little further out but still within the 1st or 2nd districts.

4) Bijoux Burma
249 Rue St Honore (75001) or 16 rue de la Paix (75002)
Gorgeous classic jewellery using synthetic stones that look like the real deal but at a fraction of the price. Probably one of the best finds of my entire trip.

5) Catherine
7 rue Castiglione, 75001 (just around the corner from Bijoux Burma on rue St Honore)
Perfumes and cosmetics at a really good discount. I got a huge bottle of a new fragrance at 50% off as they sold me an unused tester that they had in stock.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions! Have a good trip!

Retrobabe,
Love your moniker! I am so pleased to have your tips. Jules will be on my list as will the stores you mentioned. It should be a good area for picking up lots of "to go" food to eat in our apartment. Thank you so much for your timely response. MAP

Good information in this thread!
I have to admit, most times I've looked at apartment rental photos, I am struck by how uncomfortable the beds look - esp. the pull-out sofa variety.
J