Hi everyone. My husband and I are beginning to look for an apartment for a September trip to Paris. We’ve come up with some ideas and I’m hoping that you can give us some pointers, particularly in terms of location. This will be my husband’s first trip to Paris and my second. I know many of would suggest that we stay in a hotel rather than an apartment, but we have already made that decision so you don’t need to get in that discussion. I only bring it up as it may affect your recommendations/comments regarding the location of our apartment. We will be in Paris for a week to 10 days and I can’t handle the close quarters of the hotel rooms in our price range. And we like being on our own, are experienced independent travelers, and my husband speaks some French.

We want an apartment in a location that has decent access to public transportation, particularly a metro. We want a nice street with patisseries, markets, and restaurants within easy walking distance. I want a place that we can come back to in the late afternoon from a day of sightseeing and nest in our apartment before we walk out to dinner. And, obviously, we want some place safe and clean.

Here is our list of candidates:

1. http://www.private-paris.com/grenellesalon.htm
I don’t have an exact address but the website describes it as being on the rue de Grenelle between Blvd. St. Germain and Blvd. Raspail, half way between the Place de la Concorde and the Luxembourg Garden in the 7th. What do you think of this location? I’m a bit concerned about the size (42 sq. meters). The lack of an elevator is not an issue for us. What is this street like? Is it too busy?

2. http://www.parisianflat.com/madame.htm The address is 37 Rue Madame near the Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th. It’s 52 sq. meters. No dishwasher or washer/dryer which would be nice to have but are not deal breakers.

3. http://vacationinparis.com/apts/id_74.htm This one is intriguing and gets good reviews on Fodors. This one is also small (40 sq. meters) and the photos on the website are limited. I called vacationinparis this morning and they don’t have additional photos or a floorplan to send me as they “don’t need them to rent it.” (She said it more nicely than it sounds.) Does anybody know of additional photos floating around on the internet?

4. http://parisperfect.com/fleurie/text...ent-paris.html
5. http://parisperfect.com/volnay/text/...tel-paris.html
These two are significantly more expensive. What do you think of this area?

Oops. I posted that before I meant to.

I also wanted to say that I did check out http://photos.pagesjaunes.fr/ but it didn't help me as much as I would have hoped.

Thanks for your help!

i'm afraid i haven't stayed in the apts. you mention, but we are renting the rue madame flat this fall. the owners/managers have been very nice to deal with so far. i can let you know more after thanksgiving.

have you checked vrbo.com? last spring we rented a lovely (2 br.) apt. in the marais which i found on that site.

good luck!

I like this one the best...

http://www.private-paris.com/grenellesalon.htm

It has a fresh, cool look.

I would shy away from those "all white" places. How white can they be with al sorts of people coming and going?

I am staying at this place in November in case you are interested...

http://www.parisbestlodge.com/rivoli.html

parisbestlodge.com also has a few other interestiong places.

wj1, have you checked www.slowtrav.com? Lots of apartment/villa reviews there as well as reviews of rental agencies. And tips.

We've had good luck with vacationinparis.com. We have tried to get that apartment but it is always booked. I don't know if this matters to you but we will not rent an apartment that requires us to climb up four flights of stairs every day.

I believe 42 square meters is adequate for two for a stay of a week to 10 days, but this is the perspective of a country boy from remote Northern New York State whose two decades in Paris may have had an impact on space reqirements. In the absence of floor plans, I would venture that you shouldn't make a decision based solely on a size difference of 6 to 10 square meters. A whole lot depends on how the space is organized. Kitchens need not be large to be efficient or even pleasing, and each square meter in the kitchen is one less in the living room or bedroom. Also, some Paris apartments have square meters wasted in entryway or hallway, although it is also true that hallways may in some case serve as a buffer to reduce steet noise.

Your No. 3 possibility may illustrate some of the space-distribution factors I mentioned earlier. The eat-in kitchen and presence of an entryway in 40 square meters point to a modestly sized living room and perhaps an even more modestly sized bedroom.

We stayed at Paris Perfect & it was great. The location can't be beat & the view of the Eiffel Tower every day - you can't put a price on that. Rue Cler is a short distance & the Metro was a short walk. Easy to deal with English speaking people. Highly recommended.

The Grenelle apartment is the best location with regard to transportation, being in the center of a triangle of metro stations on the 10, 12 and 4 lines, as well as good bus connections.

Although the ParisPerfect apartments are wonderful, (I've seen but not stayed in 3 of them) that part of the 7th is some distance from convenient metro access. It isn't far from the RER and the #69 bus is good, but it's less convenient as I say. In addition, there are fewer choices of restaurants and food shops than the St-Germain area, IMO.

I once looked at the rue Madame apartment and felt the photos were more flattering than the reality, but it was perfectly adequate, except that I seem to recall very little storage. In fact I don't remember a closet at all, but that may be wrong. Also, a washer/dryer for a 10 day stay would be high on my list, but maybe not yours. As far as transportation and access to food, etc, rue Madame is nearly as convenient as rue de Grenelle.

I would not consider the vacation in paris apartment without more photos, having seen some really awful places that sounded good, or even looked good in photos. From your choices it appears that the aesthetics of the apartment are important, so why take a chance?

Thanks everyone.

Melissa19, enjoy your stay at the Rue Madame apt. You'll have to let us know how it is and if it really is that white!

Richardab--Thanks for your vote. I think it's my husband's too. I like you apartment but we're really looking for a one bedroom.

Shellio: Thanks for your input on location. I also have the same concern on the Rue Madame apt. that you do. It will be great when Melissa19 leaves some feedback. Yes, aesthetics are very important to me which is why I won't rent the vacationinparis apartment without more photos. I wouldn't risk it.

I think we're now leaning towards Rue Grenelle. The lack of an elevator is not a deal breaker for us. Does anybody else have comments?

Scarlett, Patrick and Christina--where are you??????

Hello there~
Sorry I missed this before, we have been out exploring our new hometown.

The vacation in paris apt #74 is lovely. My friend stayed there about a year or so ago, they have upgraded it since and she told me that it was quite nice before the upgrade. I have seen photos of the interiors, I would stay there in a minute!
In fact, when we were planning our trip this past March, I tried to rent it but then we found out that our son was joining us, we needed a bigger apt.

We ended up renting Paris Perfect Pomerol. Perfect lol .. it is on rue de Grenelle..at the corner of rue Cler & rue Dominique..not as busy & noisy as one might think, in fact, it was quiet the entire week.

I would not want to have to walk up any stairs to the apt, after all the walking one does in Paris..

Rue de Grenelle has some lovely shops and bakeries and restaurants, it is a lively place during the day and quiets down at night. The Eiffel Tower is approx. 5 blocks away, we walked it every night to say goodnight to it, although we could see if from our bedroom
Hope this helps..any questions, just ask away~
ps*
I took my own photos of the apt interiors and neighborhood, if you want, write to me at [email protected] and I can send them to you..

Hi wj1,
We recently stayed at the Paris Perfect apartment Pinot. They have updated the lounge furniture from the web page. It was one bedroom with elevator and washing machine etc. Very highly recommened. The apartment is easy walking distance to Rue Cler and Rue Dominique with many bread shops and delis and heaps of restaurants.

We ate locally every night bar 2. We were there for 9 nights. The owners are great to deal with and everything went swimmingly.

The Pinot apt. is equidistance to the Metro at Ecole Militaire and the RER Pont de l'Alma. Easy walk to both, also the bus stop is right outside. Takes you straight to Bon Marche!!

There a tiny balcony with a small table and two chairs, which we squeezed on to for morning coffee and the occasional lunch, good view of top 2/3rd of Eiffel Tower. Highly recommend, more than happy. We were there from Aug 31st - Sept 9th. There is no airconditioning, but we really didn't need it even though it was hot. The bedroom windows open wide to a central courtyard which gave us enough cool air.

Hi wj1, I am in one of Paris Perfects apartments as I type and I love the location, in fact it is two flights up from Volnay. It is very near Fleurie and near two bakeries, a great butcher,a charcuterie, two great vegetable/fruit purveyors, a small grocery for your other needs, a wine store and you haven't even made it to rue Cler or the Ave Saxe roving market which is on Thursday and Saturday morning. Also you are right across the street from three bus stops--#42,#87,#69. You are probably equidistant from The RER at Alma and the metro at Ecole Militaire which is about a 10 min. walk. You are also a short walk to the #92 and #82 busline. You have a very large selection of restaurants to choose from of all different price ranges in this area of the 7th: Vin Sur Vin, Violon D'Ingres on the starred side to Cafe Constant, P'tit Troquet, Clos des Gourmets, Florimond, La Taverna,Fables des Fontaines on the more casual, less expensive side with fixed price menus. I have dealt with this group for over three years and have stayed in three of their apartments and seen almost all of them. Our favorite is St Emilion. I agree they are on the expensive side but it will be a wonderful experience if you can afford it. I have seen the Rue Madame apartment and I remember also that there were no closets or storage and since our stays are usually a month at a time I did not want to look at luggage. A elevator is a priority for me. After walking and having a great day in Paris, I don't want to walk up four flights of stairs. You might reconsider the elevator. Also, it is great having a washer/dryer for longer stays.Those are just my thoughts and observances. I'm sure you will have a good time whereever you choose.

i'm sure the rue madame apt. won't be as "white" as the pix. our place in the marais was a bit duller than what was on the website, but once we got used to that, it was quite charming and more than adequate.

just wanted to add that i agree about the long trudge up the stairs (spiral stone in the marais) after a day of sightseeing. i was very happy to have the tiny elevator as an option.

Have you looked at this apt yet? The 3 place Bourg-Tibourg apartment is really in a very characteristic Marais neighborhood that you may really like. It's within walking distance from shopping, sites and a wealth of bistros.

http://bienvenueaparis.com

From what I understand they are also very easy to deal with since they live in Vermont!. The apt looks really nice too.

well, I'll weigh in, but so much of this is just personal taste (and idiosyncracies).

I don't like the one on Grenelle because I dislike the art work, and it has no reading lamps that I can see. The owner is someone who doesn't read and/or doesn't care about guests' comfort. There is no light in the LR at all that I can see for reading, and the bed doesn't even have a bedsize table but some weird thing next to the bed. It is probably too small for 2 people (42 m2), also -- I have a limit on apts without elevators which is 3 floors. This one is 4, and I just think that could limit your activity. I mean, if I'm in an apt and decide to pop out to the corner for a croissant or a bottle of wine, I just think I might think about it more if it involves walking up and down 4 flights. That's up to you -- the owner does not appear fluent in English from the translations, so maybe the 4th floor is US 5th floor (I'd check). I just didn't like that one at all, although I like the location a lot.

I like rue Mme best in these price ranges, but wonder about the closets. I thought of renting that one once myself -- it's on other websites. I think it's on VRBO, for one. I like it but the whiteness did kind of bother me, I thought I'd be afraid just to sit on the sofa. That was the main thing that bothered me. I like that location a lot, also.

Both the parisperfect ones liook nice, but they are very expensive, so that's the choice there.

I don't like the Vacation in Paris one myself -- first, I don't like their attitude. I've dealt with them and also found that arrogant attitude when I asked about something else (not photos) and thought they were unprofessional in other ways. I asked for a contract, for one thing, and they refused to give me a written contract spelling out deposits, terms, etc. They said something like they just didn't do things that way, they were just too casual to have contracts. So what if "they don't need it" to rent it. What is the real issue here--having better photos on the website doesn't really cost anything, digital photos cost about nothing. It doesn't appeal to me from what is visible, although I wonder a lot about what isn't. The living room seems to have about no furniture, or it's not visible. Those chairs are not comfortable sitting chairs, I can again see no reading lights. There isn't any couch, is there? If so, maybe it's not visible. It is white, also, and I don't like that. I'm concerned more about comfort than just decor. There are very few good photos. The basics sound okay, though (size, floor, location), if you see other photos or take others words for it.

I've not experienced any problems when I have called vacationin paris to ask about things that concerned me. Towels for example, seem to be not very plentiful in rental apartments. The pactures of the apartment we rented from them for next month had limited pictures so I called and asked them questions. they were very polite and answered to my satisfaction. I also require reading lights and I don't sleep on fold outs or futons or up against the wall for example.

The apartment we had last year was fine and only up one flight of stairs. Nonetheless, we got pretty tired of those stairs. We live in a one story house. Besides, you get to climb more than enough stairs just getting around Paris.

My main reason for using them thus far is the ease of payment and getting the keys mailed to us rather than meeting someone on their schedule. Some of the places I contacted wanted wire transfers and then you had to go their office to get keys. I'm lazy and would chose to stay in a hotel rather than have any sort of hassle.

I found Vacation in Paris extemely helpful. They quickly responded to my many e-mails (I tend to be a bit neurotic at the start of my vacation plans). I had no problems obtaining keys, maps, etc. in advance. The apartment was exactly as described. 42 meters was plenty of room for 4 women and a teenager. We stayed at a 2BR of theirs in the 1st and loved it. They never even charged the deposit to my credit card, so I had no problems when I returned. The owner to my particular unit lived in Paris and we did call him one day and had no problems reaching him.

I've stayed in ParisPerfect's Cabernet apartment - simply lovely place with all the conveniences of home, and of course the view of la tour Eiffel that you cannot get at home. My husband and I found the neighborhood very convenient and enjoyed using the buses, which are right at the corner. It's an easy neighborhood to return to after a day's sightseeing, relax, and walk to any of many, many good restaurants for dinner. I personally enjoy having a balcony or some access to the outdoors from my living space and most of the PP apartments fill that wish. I've also stayed at a beautiful apartment on rue de Verneuil (vrbo #9718), which has a great location on a quiet street behind the musee d'Orsay. You might want to inquire about this one; the American owner is delightful to deal with. Choosing the perfect Paris apartment rental is one of my favorite things to do. Have fun!