mrubio0806

Regarding location, here are three more apartments to consider:

http://www.parisrentalconnections.com/property/55/
http://www.parisrentalconnections.com/property/68/
http://www.parisrentalconnections.com/property/101/

Kindly provide your thoughts.

MmePerdu

Generally speaking, it's my favorite area to stay and do more often than not. But some areas are definitely better than others. Using Sacre Coeur as the center, on the mountain south and west as far as the cemetery is very good. Also on the mountain to the north is very nice, almost all residential. East, not so much.

Apartments #1 & #2 are I believe in the 9th, not in the 18th, not on the mountain, not Montmartre. The map doesn't seem to be working for property #3 but I love the Rue Lepic area. That would be my choice. There's a commercial section of Rue Lepic and is a popular local food shopping street, everything you'd need including a Monoprix at the bottom of the hill and cafes all around. It's my favorite neighborhood in Paris.

kerouac

Montmartre is an excellent area, but it is not for everybody. You will have to take the metro more often that some people want to, and it is an area that doesn't necessarily please people who want to stroll along the Seine every night.

But those of us who know Montmartre know that it has other rewards.

mrubio0806

Thank you very much MmePerdu and Kerouac. Insightful.

MmePerdu

There are also good bus services from the corner of Rue Lepic & Blvd. Clichy, same intersection as the Blanche Metro. The bus is a bit more complicated to learn but very rewarding once you begin. I recommend that you give it a try and see the city go by as you ride. There are websites with comprehensive bus maps that can be printed for each line, VERY useful.

Magster2005

Another vote for the rue Lepic apartment. We stayed in an apartment not far from there for a month last spring, and we loved the area. As MmePerdu said, rue Lepic has lots of shopping. Rue des Martyrs, another shopping street, is not too far. We also liked the Bio Market near Place de Clichy.

We had always favored the Metro, but we started getting into the buses last year. Here is a great source for bus line maps: http://www.ratp.fr/informer/pdf/plans-bus/plans_bus.php

You can also pick up a copy of the small booklet "Paris Circulation" which has wonderful maps, including a map of all the bus lines.

If you like wine, La Cave des Abbesses at 43 Rue des Abbesses is excellent. Be sure to look for the elevator when you exit the metro at Abbesses -- it is the deepest metro station in Paris and quite a hike up!

YankyGal

I'm another big fan of Montmartre, having stayed there a few times. In addition to Metro and buses, we found we walked plenty of places as well but 1. we're big walkers, and 2. we're generally not visiting the usual tourist spots.

Rue Lepic is a great location (as mentioned in other posts above) and the double-glazed windows would be a selling point for me. I agree with MmePerdu's comments about the different areas.

You will definitely hear less English than some of the more centrally-located arrondissements, so it's great for practicing your French! Good luck with your decision!

MmePerdu

I was staying once at a small hotel I like on the back side of the Sacre Coeur and I'd saved my gift shopping until the last day. Wouldn't you know, a transport strike. I spent the entire day on foot, did my shopping all the way down to the river and back. Saw all kinds of places I wouldn't have otherwise. So, as YankyGal says, if you're a walker everything is in walking distance.

Blaise22

There are countless of nice places to stay in the city, it just depends on where you want to be. I personally don't care for Montmarte, it's my least favorite part of the city I've visited. I would look to either stay in the 3rd, 5th, 6th, or 7th. They are all more centrally located and I found them all to be much more enjoyable for walking around. My last trip there I stayed in the 7th and it was my favorite area I've stayed in Paris.

MmePerdu

I had my 21st birthday in 1966 while living in a garret room on Rue Tholoze, adjacent to Rue Lepic, with a balcony and a view of almost the entire city. I took pictures with black and white film that I've since reprinted and handcolored, rooftops, clouds and city with Eiffel Tower, my most popular image. The area was then very working class and has gentrified over the years. But it's remained unique even with the changes, still a real neighborhood, and I wouldn't trade it for the flatlands of the 3rd, 5th, 6th or 7th.

kerouac

Oh, wonderful rue Tholozé! Did you at least see a movie at the Studio 28? (which still exists)

YankyGal

That is wonderful! I'd love to see some of those pictures.

Me, I had my 22nd birthday while living in a room in an apartment on the Boulevard St. Michel. I would have traded with you in a heartbeat! While the Latin Quarter was just fine - I was a student, afterall - I would have much preferred a more residential area, i.e. the real Paris of which kerouac often speaks. At the time, though, the student housing my school arranged for us in Clichy was about to expire, and that was all I could get on short notice.

I really didn't "discover" Montmartre until several trips later. Oh sure, I had been to the Place du Tertre before, but that ain't Montmartre as far as I'm concerned.

MmePerdu

No, kerouac, never did. Was working 6 evenings a week at the Casino de Paris, 2 shows on Sunday, and did nothing else in the evenings with just 1 off. Sometimes stopped for a drink on the way home with friends at the big bar/bistro that used to be next door to the Moulin Rouge. Do you remember the name?

MmePerdu

Cirano was the name, if memory serves, which it often doesn't. I've been trying to remember that for years!