Back2Sabi

Hey, Fodorites!

We're in the final phase of choosing an apartment for our one-week trip to Paris in December. We came up with variety of price ranges and locations (but all within the 5th or 6th). Please chime in on favorite location as that will be most important as it may be cold and we'll want to be in a great area!

Here are the three finalists:

1) Rue Mazarine at Rue Buci (Odeon Metro)
2) Rue Saint-Jacques very close to the Pantheon (Luxembourg Metro)
3) Rue de Chevreuse (between Vavin Metro and Port-Royal RER)

Looking to make the decision ASAP, so any help much appreciated!

monicapileggi

Personally for me, I would choose the first location. I've stayed at Hotel des Balcons and enjoyed my walks to/from there.

Monica

bardo1

All three of those are great areas in neat neighborhoods with plenty of cafes, shopping, etc. - but each with has its own vibe.

Any of them puts you within a ten minute Metro ride to the tourist attracations.

The Rue Mazarine/Rue de Buci area will be considerably pricier in terms of a cup of coffee, snack or meal. The shops are much more upscale as well. But, it's the most central.

I like the Rue de Chevruse area. It's a few blocks from the Luxemborg gardens, two blocks to Metro Vavin (vuh-VAN), but still has lots of undiscovered places within a few blocks that are within a few blocks that are 100% tourists free.

The Pantheon area of course is crawling with college and students and has a ton of very inexpensive places to eat (with similar quality levels of most campus areas). It is also convenient to walk to many tourist sights.

Again, all three locations are good in their own way. It depends on what you are looking for.

Any help?

Nikki

Tough decision, any of those areas would be nice.

I might pick number 1. Great area, many shops and restaurants very close by, and the Odeon metro is more convenient than the Luxembourg RER station. But I think it would depend on the apartment's other factors to tip the scale for me.

Guenmai

For me definitely location #1. I've stayed in this neighborhood, almost annually, since the early 80s. That's a VERY good location. You can easily walk to a lot of interesting places and there's a lot going on.

Which company are you renting from and which apartment? I'm curious since I had an apartment in the spring near location #1. Happy Travels!

grandmere

I prefer the location of #1 also, but other factors would weigh in on the decision, such as the apartment itself.

Christina

I also would go with the actual apt. and features and pricing with those choices. Now I personally would have some subtle differences in choice by those locations, but not sure you would. For eample, on rue St Jacques -- exactly where? I know that street pretty well and would not probably want to be right near rue Soufflot, for example,due to noise and other things.

I personally would never want to stay on rue Mazarine near rue Buci, it is too noisy and full of tourists, but I know I'm in a minority on that point. I guess iot might not be so bad in December in that regard. It will be very convenient for you in the winter, though, so I give a nod on that point -- the one near Pantheon is not as close to a metro stop, actually. Rue de Chevreuse would be okay, also, and has good transportation options being near a couple metro stops. It isn't near a big Monoprix/Inno grocery store as I like, however, it is a couple blocks from a small Franprix.

Back2Sabi

Thanks all!

The first location (near Odeon) which most of you like is, of course, the most expensive! (100 euro more than No. 3, which is 100 euro more than No. 2! But it is also the nicest. Oh, a toughie! Thanks for all the advice. I can now make the decision fairly confident that any will be good, at least in terms of location!

dmlove

Far be it for me to make you break your budget, but 100 Euros is $140 or so, which for a week is only $20.00 per night. Take the nicest apartment!!

Guenmai

As for noise...I'm a very light sleeper. The apartment I had was on rue St.Andres des Arts which is the the street where rue Buci does a name change. I was REALLY in the heart of things and next door to a movie theater and had no big problems with street noise and this was this past March. The windows are thick. Plus, I always pack foam earplugs.
Plus, you're going in December when there are most likely not going to be tons of people out anyway. I was once in Paris Thanksgiving weekend, a few years ago, and the neighborhood was quite dead as far as tourists go.
I went by a friend's restaurant...on rue Gregoire des Tours...which is a one-block, mostly restaurant street between rue Buci and Blvd. St. Germain. I sat there from opening at 7PM to closing at 10PM and there was only ONE couple in three hours. I sat in the family room and had a great time to visit with my friends. As I walked down the street, restaurant staff was standing at the doors of various restaurants trying to all hustle me in.

During the day, it was nice, but not crowded. I usually go in March or April, but for over a decade went in the summers and that's when it's bumper-to-bumper people in the neighborhood. So, you should be fine. Happy Travels!