we have found a very reasonable studio for 3 in the 3rd arrn. it is near the pompidou center. can someone provide me with information about this area. such as safety, convenience, shops, metro access etc. i thought i should find out before i totally commit. thank you.

I avoid the area around the Pompidou Center & Les Halles. Although there are some nice buildings in that region, it's just a little to "tacky" for me. Lots of cheap shops, vagrants (although not dangerous). It's not as upscale as other neighborhoods. Convenience & metro access are fine, however.

Stu Dudley

I will second what Stu said. In addition, I will say that the area is also rather congested, which means that depending on what season you're visiting and whether or not you'll be opening your windows, you could be in for a lot of ambient noise.

The reasonable price of the studio is reflected in its surroundings. In Paris, the better the neighborhood, the steeper the price.

Yes, it can be a pretty dodgey area. Not really unsafe, but shabby. There are some nice flats, though, and itis not all that bad a location for getting around town (better than being in the suburbs) so if you don't need upscale surroundings it may work for you.

How near the Pompidou?

The Pompidou is actually in the 4th on the border with the 3rd. The 3rd is north of the Pompidou.

If you're a few streets up into the 3rd it might OK. If it's on blvd de Sébastopol which is the western border it'll be on an extremely busy street. The same with Place de la République. It's a busy intersection.

Square du Temple is in the middle of the 3rd (which isn't a very big arrondissement.) I walked through there a couple of years ago and liked the looks of that area.

I think some people tend to be a little too picky, but this area works just fine for most people, especially if the price of the accommodations meets your budget. We can't all afford to stay at Ritz in Place Vendôme.

The area immediately around the Pompidou Center is not as upscale as some other parts of Paris, but it's not that bad and there are a lot of decent places to eat in the general neighborhood including on the top floor of Pompidou Center, which is a highly rated restaurant. Some of the comments are correct about the area, but only in the fact that this is a very busy part of the 3rd.

We have stayed in the 4th in two different apartments. They were both very near the pompidou. We were in the neighborhood alot and used the rambuteau metro as well as chatelet. I have also stayed at a hotel directly across from the pompidou. Yes, it can be shady, especially at night, but I wouldn't shy away from staying there. There are alot of places to buy food on rambuteau and there are plenty of restaurants. I did feel uncomfortable walking in the Les Halles area at night and I would avoid it. Where is the studio located and who are you renting it from?

it is on rue de vertbois.i found it on vrbo.com and the review from someone who had stayed there was favorable. i was just curious about the neighborhood. it is 300 meters from the pompidou center, 2nd floor facing courtyard. i cant find the street on my map. any comments? thanks so much for the comments so far.

That street is closer to Place de la République and Square du Temple than it is to Pompidou.

You can use the pages jaunes web site to look at the building then "walk" up and down the street to get an idea.
http://photos.pagesjaunes.fr/1/d/home_paris.htm

They probably think the Pompidou Center would appeal to more people or that people would know it, in any case. That street should be on most maps, it's on my Streetwise map -- you're probably looking in the wrong place, it's the street running E-W right across the top of the Conservatoire and Musee des Arts et Metiers, a couple blocks north of the Reaumur metro stop.

We stayed in an apartment on rue Chapon, which is about half way between rue du Vertbois and the Pompidou Center. I'm not sure where the cheap shops and vagrants are located that Stu mentioned, but they weren't on the side of the Pompidou Center that I frequented. Maybe closer to Les Halles I've heard it can be dicey, but along the rue Beaubourg it was fine.

Rue du Vertbois appears to run behind the Musee des Arts et Metiers, which is very interesting (or at least my husband said so). The neighborhood around the Arts et Metiers metro station was fine, and the station itself is a fascinating Jules Verne fantasy of copper tiles. I didn't walk across rue Reaumur except to go to the post office so I didn't see the precise neighborhood of rue du Vertbois, but there are lots of good restaurants and regular stores in the area. Not particularly congested either.

Hello kparrish--

When you will be in Paris? I have rented an apartment through VRBO that is in the same area as you will be...on Rue Beranger...very close to Place de la Republique. I have heard that area is nice, safe, and not so touristy. I'm looking forward to staying there. I will be there the first week of April.

Kelbert

>>> it is on rue de vertbois.i found it on vrbo.com and the review from someone who had stayed there was favorable. i was just curious about the neighborhood. it is 300 meters from the pompidou center,<<

On my map, its more than 700M from Pompidou.

We walked around that area in Sept, when we followed the "Republic and Temple" walk outlined in the book "Walking Paris". I don't recall anything bad about that section - although it's not what I would call close to Pompidou.

The area I dislike is mostly west of Pompidou & a little south.

In Sept, we had a very nice dinner at Pamphlet on R Debelleyme, which is not far away.

Stu Dudley

I second Le Pamphlet, an excellent restaurant at an excellent price.

At least you know you won't be over-run with Americans in a not so trendy area.

It measures about 600-700m from the top edge of Pompidou on my map, also.