Hello fellow Fordorites,

I have sifted thru the already posted suggestions on Paris apartments. There's a lot of GREAT info!

My situation is this:
I will be taking classes in Paris July 2006. I have gotten advice from many different people on when I should book an apartment. Some say by Nov., others say a few months before arriving.

Any suggestions?

Thanks so much!
Jules

If your dates are firm and you have found a place that you like, don't wait!! Find out the deposit arrangements and refunds for same IF something unforseen should affect your trip. If satisfied with all this..go for it!! Enjoy...........

I agree, booked ASAP. You are looking towards next summer and so are zillions of other visitors from all over the world. If you find what you like, check out gracejoan's suggestions, and then jump on it. They apartments go very fast, ask me how I know ;-)

Enjoy your stay.

Nina

I agree, go for it now. But one word of caution. How much possibility is it that you won't go, or you'll need to change dates? Many apartments require big deposits in advance and have heavy charges for cancelling -- even months ahead of time.

I agree that you should book now if you've found an apartment that suits your needs <u>and</u> you're comfortable w/the reservation/cancellation policies. (I just booked our Paris apt. for our stay in late June 2006.)

Good luck!

To add to my earlier post..I have had my apartment in the Dordogne for October, 2006 booked for about 2 months now!! I am now waiting for my 330 days out for booking FF tickets to Toulouse..........

It really depends on how important a certain apartment is to you versus you likely you think you may change plans and not want it or not go. I guess there is also a little issue of just not being comfortable having your money tied up way in advance with someone you don't know--as with any business, they could not even be around later, I suppose, if you don't know them. I have only rented from Parisian agencies so didn't have the issue of not knowing who they were or how reputable they were and they had both been around for years. You can get some idea of stability from reviews on here and some other places, if it's a known agency.

If you wait until a couple months before, you will have very limited choice of an apartment, the best ones will be booked ahead of that time. I always have booked about six months in advance for a July apt. and even then, some of my top choices were already booked. If you aren't picky at all about the place, you could wait until a few months before if you are leery of booking way ahead.

In mid-February '04 I received a grant to spend the month of July '04 in France. I immediately began contacting agencies about apartments and found many already unavailable for my dates. The sooner you make plans, the larger your choice of available apartments...

Do book your apt as soon as you find the one you want. I waited too long (approx. 5 months ahead) to try for the one I wanted in Rome and it was gone!! Paris will be the same. If you're staying for any length of time check out rentparis.com. I stayed in a studio in the 7th (rue Duvivier) for a month and the location was great and the price was right. Back then (2001), the cancellation policy was within reason. [email protected]

It depends on your budget -- and on how adventurous you are. Most short-term furnished Paris rentals are priced by the week, and if you go that route a month's stay will be quite costly, even if you manage to negotiate a discount. You could, alternatively, try to find a sublet, through the publication France-U.S.A. Contacts, or FUSAC, for example, with classified ads that can be read online. There will be numerous offers, since many Parisians are on vacation in July. In that case, you should start looking in May. If instead you decide to rent through an agency that caters to tourists, you should book much sooner, though you might find smaller apartments away from the &quot;sights&quot; still available for June in the early spring.

Make that, &quot;In that case you should start looking in April or May.&quot;