monicapileggi

Greetings,

In another posting of mine, I stated I would be in Paris for 9 nights. A few people recommended I consider an apartment. I found a studio in the Marais area on the VRBO web site: http://www.vrbo.com/26337 I also did a mappy.com to check the location (rue Vieille du Temple).

Is this a good location? Also, is it a pretty safe for a solo female traveler? I emailed the company and am waiting to see what price they have for my trip.

Also, if you have any recommendations for other apartments (looking to keep the daily rate under $100) in Paris, I would appreciate hearing your comments. Will also search through the threads here.

Thanks!

Monica

enzian

Hi Monica,

www.VacationInParis.com has a number of studio apartments for under $100 a night, in the 3rd,6th, 8th, and 18th:

http://www.vacationinparis.com/infop/studios.htm

I don't know about safety and location of the others, but we stayed in the same building as the "Garden Studio" in the 7th, and it was great. One block off Rue Cler, on a quiet street that I would have been completely comfortable negotiating alone. This apartment is a bit over $100 a night, however. Another one close by, the Eiffel Tower View one, is only $110 a night, so maybe within your budget.

Nina66

I don't know the apartment, but the Marais is a wonderful, alive, bustling area. It is the Jewish and also the Gay area of Paris.


It is a safe area and there are lots of restaurants, all price ranges, and fabulous small shops. clothes, jewelry, etc... If you are on budget .... don't eat, just shop

If the apartment is available and in your price range, it looks fine for one person. Much roomier and probably much cheaper than a hotel.


Transportation is good and it is within easy walking distance to the Bastille area, Ille St. Louis. Cite (Notre Dame), and many other areas and attractions.

Post the address and see if anyone has stayed there.

As a female solo traveler, the area should be very comfortable for you.

Let us know what you decide - and of course we will be _expecting_ a trip report when you return.

Nina

janisj

Check out this one too if you want a budget place in a very central location. It's a 1 bedroom in the 5th and a 2 min walk from Notre Dame and St Michel metro/RER on a pedestrian street - very touristy but walking distance from everything. only €49 per week.

http://www.homelidays.com/paris-05/a...ROMSEARCH=TRUE

janisj

oops €49 WOULD be cheap .. Should have said €490 per week . . . . .

worldinabag

Hi

You can get a "feel" of the street by using this excellent website - http://photos.pagesjaunes.fr

Good luck

monicapileggi

Thanks for the links! I love the one with the Eiffel tower view - and no problem with that price!

Nina, I like your "don't eat - just shop" idea.

Time for bed and more research tomorrow.

Thanks!

Monica

KrunkoDallas

We stayed here just a few weeks ago:

http://www.studioinparis.com/studiobernieenglish.html

In the Bastille area, which turned out to be a very lively area as well. Currently, it's listed at 450 euros/week. Very clean/quiet apartment and very gracious/helpful owner.

Seamus

Monica - I think it would be fine for you as long as you don;t mind walking up the stairs. The apartment looks to be around number 27 on rue Vieille du Temple (check it out on www.pagesjaunes.fr and have a peek at the photos and map) which is perfectly fine in terms of safety and a nice location for a visit. It is also convenient to rue de Rivoli which is a great place to stroll - lots of little shops, turn to the right and walk past Hotel de Ville and the enticing shopping at BHV, onward to the Louvre and a bit further to Angelina's for legendary hot chocolate. Turn left and stroll (the street name changes to rue Sainte-Antoine) down a bit then take a left at rue de Birague to reach Place de Vosges, or continue to the Place Bastille, passing several deli/resto bakery options, even a grocery store.
BTW, the comments from previous rentors on the vrbo site look pretty good, and several list an email address so you might get some first hand reviews that way.
Of course you wil be obligated to post a trip report, too. ;-)

shellio

The location on rue Vieille duu Temple is, IMO, ideal, a very fun and interesting street, with lots of shops, cafes, restaurants, etc. It's safe because it is one of the pedestrian thoroughfares of the neighborhood (not a pedestrian-only street, but a lot of pedestrian traffic with not many vehicles...it's narrow a that point.)

The photo of the street on the vrbo site shows rue du Trésor, a pretty landscaped dead-end street with several restaurants and boutiques. And to clinch the deal, there's an Amorino gelato shop on the next corner.

GerryBonj

We rented from RentParis.com. Check out their site and prices. We rented near where you are thinking about. No deposit was necessary..a big plus, and a very nice 2 bedroom apartment.

monicapileggi

Well the studio on rue Vieille due Temple is booked. Haven't heard back from the one with the Eiffel tower veiw, although I think I still would prefer to be in the Maraias (or left bank - 5th) area.

Thanks for the additional web sites. GerryBonj, which apartment did you rent? I looked at the one on rue Vieille du Temple and it seems pretty nice. No photos from the apt to the street, so I can't tell if it's an interior apt.

I'll have to remember the gelato shop when I'm there!

Monica

lucygirl

Hi Monica,

You can't go wrong with rue Vieille de Temple. I rented apt #11 from rentparis.com a couple of years ago. I was happy with our little studio and I was thrilled with our street. (we were #32).

It was fun and funky--and I was with my sister so safety for us girls was at the top of our list too.

Have a great trip--I'm so jealous!!

Tamara

monicapileggi

Tamara, thanks for your comments on apt #11. It looks like there is no couch in the room. Were you comfortable without one? Any other comments about the studio? Also, did you have any problems in booking the studio?

Thanks,

Monica

monicapileggi

PS Tamara, how about views - did the studio face the front street? Can't tell from the photos. Did you book via the web site?

Thanks!

Monica

kopp

Hello Monica,

I have recently booked an apartment thru homelidays.com. I have used this agency before with good results.

If you go to the homelidays.com website, after clicking on English (I assume), go to these reference numbers:

#61355
#111825
#110066

I believe they are in your price range and in the Marais or Louvre districts as well.

Good luck!

monicapileggi

Thanks kopp, I've decided to go with apartment #11 on rue Vieille du Temple!

Thanks again everyone for your comments and suggestions.

Monica

lucygirl

Hi Monica,

We really enjoyed our little studio. The first couple days, we would tuck our murphy bed back into the wall and use the chairs provided but after that we would just leave the bed down all day and hang out on that. I really didn't miss a couch at all.

As for the view, there's not much of one because it's not over the street, but the windows overlook the tiny courtyard below. It was really quiet for sleeping at night but omigod open your windows first thing when you get up and your place will be FILLED with the bakery smells from next door. Nirvana.

We had no problems meeting up with guy on our arrival. The apartment was clean and the bathroom was spotless. At the time the tub and tiling were brand new so that was great.

One thing your might want to note: the stairwells are really dark at night but there's a switch on the wall at every level. You just have to feel around for it. I really really wished we had noticed this before our last day! We never felt unsafe though.

The neighbourhood has great little shops to poke around in and we grabbed a beer at the gay bar just to the right of the building when you go out the front door. The bartender was really sweet-he gave us chocolate to have with our beer. (it was Eastertime)

There's a fantastic italian restaurant nearby (can't remember what it's called) but it's a little resto on a corner and the 4 cheese pizza is to die for.

And yes, I did book via the website. Really easy, no problems at all. By the way, the website may be better now, but at the time we couldn't figure out just exactly what came with the apt. There was a hair dryer and an alarm clock and towels. Oh, and some really good maps were provided too.

I hope you have as great a time as we did. If I've left anything out, just ask.

Tamara

monicapileggi

Thanks for the comments Tamara! I appreciate. Makes me a lot more comfortable with my decision. Was the hair dryer a regular one or one of those wall-hose types?
I'll have to remember to bring a small flashlight for the stairwell. Is the front door of the building secured? And lastly (I think) will I be able to leave the windows open at night or can someone climb in from an apartment next door?

Thanks again!

Monica

lucygirl

Hi again Monica,

The hair dryer is just like we would use except that it was travel size.

The front door is indeed secure. You go through the front door (i think you type in a code for this) then there's another door just inside that you need a key to.

Also, when you get upstairs, you use another key to open the door on the landing and beyond this is 2 apartment doors (yours is on the right) then you use the same key (it's a skeleton key--way cool) to get into your apt. So you've got that extra barrier right outside your door.

The skeleton was a bit tricky at first but once you get the hang of it it's fine. I found it very Parisian

I don't think it should be a problem for you to leave the windows open at night. There's no real ledges to climb on and to your right would be the landing I mentioned so I think all's well. Even better for all those bakery smells!

I've got a couple of pics if you'd like me to email them to you.

I'd forgotten alot of these details so thanks for memories Monica! Can't wait for your trip report.

Tamara