basingstoke2

We have booked an apartment on Blvd Sebastopol between Rue Grenata and Rue Reaumur. It is on the sixth floor with elevator so I don't think noise would be a problem. Any thoughts about this neighborhood as well as restaurants and shops nearby would be most appreciated.

cigalechanta

You're not too far from Les Halles and off Rue Montorguel. I think it's in the 3rd.

cigalechanta

Scroll down to the map on this page

http://tinyurl.com/2rajj4

StCirq

Actually, it's in the 2nd, just a few blocks north of Les Halles.

It's not my favorite area of Paris, and I try to stay away from the immediate Chatelet/Les Halles after dark if I'm alone, but it's certainly not unsafe and it's awash in shops and cafes and restaurants.

PatrickLondon

Nothing wrong with it that I can think of. Blvd Sebastopol is a busy main road, but as you say, noise is unlikely to be much of an issue, especially if the apartment faces into the courtyard.

I've only walked through the area once or twice, and I don't recall anything particularly distinctive about it. But it's very close to Passage du Grand Cerf, which is one of the interesting covered arcades, and had some interesting shops (there was an antique shop selling old-style coathooks with the china knobs, on a brass frame containing old tiles, one of which I bought pretty cheaply, as I recall). There are a number of other "passages" on that side of Sebastopol as well. You're also close to the Centre Beaubourg and all the cafés and restaurants around there, and not too far to walk to the Marais.

If you go to:

http://tinyurl.com/2vjot8

and choose "Retour Rue" at the top left, you'll see you can "walk through" the area in photos (look at the arrow on the map beneath the main photo to orientate yourself).

basingstoke2

Thanks Cig, StC & PL - this is all very helpful. It looks pretty decent but a bit lacking in ambiance/atmosphere. None-the-less, at the price it's a good deal if the apartment is OK. You may recall, I wanted to stay at the du Danube but DW wanted to try something different and this place certainly is different from Rue Jacob and will leave a better budget for other things. In any case, we usually just use a room for a place to sleep. Any other input is still most appreciated.

PatrickLondon

Think of it this way - you'll be living much more as Parisians do than if you were in a completely touristy enclave.

According to pages jaunes, on the boulevard itself at that point, there are mostly offices, temp agencies, some clothes and bookshops, and a fair number of doctors and assorted therapists. Not very exciting, but not exactly downmarket either.

Christina

That apt. was discussed on FOdors before and the neighborhood. I think I said whatever I could in that post -- perhaps that was when you were deciding? maybe so. It should be fine. I think you should just walk around the neighborhood and check out the shops and restaurants. That's what I always do, just walk around and look at things.