rmoore926

Hello,
We are a family of 4 (19 and 16 yo daughters) traveling to Europe in July. We will be ending our trip with 8 nights in Paris. I have just started looking for places, and these are the ones I like so far. We want a place with 3 beds (not including a pullout if possible). These places all look fairly central, but I'm not familiar with Paris neighborhoods and if there are areas that might not be best suited for a family. I understand that all big cities, and small ones too, have their issues, and that Paris is in general a safe city. That being said, are any of these places in an area that you would be hesitant to recommend to a family. Trying to keep the price around $3500 USD or less for the 8 nights. If there's anything I left out, please let me know. Thank you for the help. ~Robert

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1026329...qNL1%2FAEBFVcb

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3949895...xKO7UDsbMhE5vz

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2821916...7ppyZgWET0OX5u

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1862480...825ZhrHdre9LUQ

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7851399...bSJBjTB7ANahDi

kerouac

Since I have better things to do than click on links like this, I would have preferred a mention of the location and any extra or missing amenities.

gomiki

Having nothing better to do and loving perusing Paris apartments, I clicked on your links. I did not read all the details, mostly looked at photos and location. They all seem to meet your needs and are all in good locations. #3 has no comfortable seating for 4 people. Boards on bricks? Really? My favorite by far is #4, Odeon. By far the most central. I have stayed in that area and loved it. Good Metro connections and walkable to many classic sights in Paris. #5 is so cluttered I would have no rest! I hope you and your family have a lovely time in my favorite city!

Seamus

but I'd be enticed by having two bathrooms, so #3 would go to the top of my list. #4 features a sofa bed which you prefer to avoid. Agree that #5 looks a bit cluttered.

lrice

Yes, I agree with gomiki. The one in St Germain-Odeon is a great location! It will be crowded but that's because it is in a central location -- walking distance everywhere. We always stay in St. Germain. Walk further into the 6th and 7th arrondissement and you will find charming, less crowded neighborhoods.

I also like this part of Marais: Montorgueil Marais (David's apartment.)

But I would go with the one in St. Germain (and hope they hung some art on the walls.)

pgtraveler

I have the one in Odeon bookmarked myself as a future possibility. I love that area.

macdogmom

I guess being in St Germain area in July would not be my preference. We have rented apts on the right bank mainly in the haut Marais for many years and even though it’s still touristy it feels a bit less crazy. I do agree that 2 bathrooms for 4 people would probably be ideal.

cafegoddess

Since I am suffering from insomnia I have lots of time. I like the last one. I am a sucker for rooftop views of Paris. I do not like the apt with bricks, that is a little strange for me. I hope your family has a great time.

swandav2000

Hi rmoore926,
I agree that having 2 bathrooms will be important to relaxing and enjoying your vacation. But I've never been tempted to stay in the 6th (Odeon), as it's too crowded and frenetic for me. But it might be perfect for your daughters...

If it were me, I would stay in #2 with a great location near/on Rue Montorgueil, a wonderful shopping street. Because I prefer to take busses over the metro, and because I like to avoid making connections, I usually stay near the river (tons of busses run by the river out to all points of the city).

If your daughters are neutral about being near the Latin Quarter, I'd go with #5 (but check the bus situation, if you'd like to take them occasionally). But for transportation and for your daughters, I guess the Odeon one would fit best.

Have fun as you plan!

s

gomiki

Just to clarify, #4 does have two bedrooms, plus a sofa bed, and two bathrooms, one with a tub/shower in the ensuite and one with a shower. Agree with Irice about the art!

One thing I did not look for is A/C. You may want that as Paris has had some very hot summers.

rmoore926

Thank you for taking the time to check out the places we're looking at - glad you had nothing better to do. I agree that #4 isn't very welcoming - too plain. I appreciate your comments. It gives us a lot to think about.

kerouac

Go nothing-better team! The OP will already be fully relaxed before arriving with all responsibility removed. We all know that the actual apartment is far more important than the city itself, especially the number of bathrooms. Keep up the good work.

rmoore926

kerouac - I thought the purpose of the forum was for people with less expertise in a place to ask those who are more knowledgeable. That's all I'm doing. I am in no way giving up my responsibility. In fact, I think I'm doing quiet to opposite. This trip is one in which my teen daughters will be traveling abroad for the first time. I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility, not only for their safety while we travel, but in some ways to make sure they have an enjoyable trip as well. My post doesn't ask about specific attractions in the city, and please don't think that all we are going to do is stay inside whichever apartment we choose (perhaps with the guidance of helpful posters on the forum). It has been over 20 years since my last visit to Europe and many things have changed. I truly appreciate the help and knowledge of those willing to take time away from their day/work/family/responsibilities to help me and others with valid questions.

kerouac

Rmoore, my remark about your search for an apartment concerns your lack of active participation. Just throwing down 5 links that you have presumably investigated without any accompanying comments give no information on what is important to you other than "appropriate area for a family." Some of the things you might have said would be things like "the kitchen and bathroom seem a bit cramped," "this one seems a bit farther from the center than the others," "the furniture looks like crap," "there doesn't appear to be a decent view," or any hundred or so other things that one might see on these apartment sites. You seem to be relying on the opinions of people who don't know anything about you or your family about which we know nothing other than the ages of your daughters. What are they interested in? What are you interested in? Do you plan to prepare some of your meals in the apartment or will you be eating out almost all of the time? That's the sort of thing that counts when you are staying in an apartment.

Believe me, we have seen it all here, including the people who post things like "I'm thinking of going to Paris. Is there anything to see there or anything good to eat? We might spend 3 days or are 2 days enough to see everything?"

I will now give my own opinion, which some people here find controversial: do not stay in a central area. If it were a 3-day stay, that would make sense. But if you are staying 8 days, you have much more time to get a feel of the city and its different neighborhoods. If you stay in the center, you will be exactly where all of the things that you will see in the first 2 or 3 days are already located. Do you need to see them over and over again? Part of the adventure of Paris is taking the metro or buses to a multitude of places and discovering things that nobody told you about, not having everything in "walking distance." That's for people over the age of 75.

rmoore926

kerouac - Thank you for the reply and ideas. I didn't include the fact that we want to make meals and would like a functioning kitchen because that is something that I have looked for in the places I saved and asked about. We currently only have one shower/bath in our house now, so for me that was not a concern either. Maybe I should have made that more clear. Being that this is our girls' first trip to Paris we will want to see all the major tourist sights (Louvre, D'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, etc). I thought I would reserve posting about best practices for those spots in another post. As mentioned in my original post, I was mostly concerned with the locations of the apartments, and anything that I may have overlooked (some mentioned seating in one of the apartments, and others pointed out the number of baths). Thanks for the suggestion of not staying the most central location. Your suggestions gives us something to think about in that regard as well. We're not over 75, so I think a little walking/discovering and exploring is something we may enjoy.

HappyTrvlr

I would narrow down your choices to the Germain- Odeon and Marais, due to their locations.

Christina

I don't think anyone knows how you would feel because I would have to be forced to stay in Paris around the Odeon metro, I detest that location. There are hordes of tourists hanging around that location, all the time. I mean sometimes you can't even walk down the sidewalk hardly. It's not even that scenic right there. That apt is right on the corner overlooking HSBC and in front of that area where the metro stop is. I would think it would be terribly noisy.
Is it central? sure, and it won't be far to the tourist things in the center.

YOu can just look at where they are on a map. The center of Paris is Notre Dame. I think that Odeon one is the most central and a couple others say they are around Reqpublique, etc. and the last one is inbetween Strasbourg-St Denis metro and Gare du Nord, I guess. I think that one said it did not have a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide monitor, so I wouldn't even consider that. I am shocked by that, I would think that is possibly illegal for anyone renting apts to not have at least a smoke alarm in them. It would be where I live, homes have to have them.

The second (Oh's near Rep) and the last ones do not have even a smoke alarm. I don't get it, they aren't that expensive. I would not stay in such a place myself, I think that refflects something, as well as being dangerous.

Tough call but you may be in the group that likes Odeon but I personally think that apt. looked really uncomfortable in terms of furniture. I think the one that says Montorgueil/Marais looked nice. One said it was only a few meters from Republique metro station, no thanks. I wouldn't want to be a few meters from any metro station entrance, I don't think. I do stay at a hotel in Paris that has a metro station entrance (not a real busy one) across the street and down one building, but even across the street is more than a few meters.

I don't think any of them is in the Marais, not that I could see.

jan47ete

The word air conditioning was crossed out on all of them. Does that mean no AC in July?

coral22

I agree, an apartment with a family is ideal. With one bathroom, having your coffee, and breakfast onsite while everyone gets ready saves a lot of time in the morning.

We love the 6th and the Marais, is also terrific. But, I did notice none of your options have air conditioning. That concerns me, with the recent horrendous European heat waves. But A/C is a rare feature in an apartment rental. Since your windows are likely be open all of the time, maybe an apartment out of the crowded tourist areas would be more restful at night.

It sounds like a fantastic trip!

Seamus

didn't even notice the lack of AC on the listings. Having been caught in summer heat waves in Paris a couple times, I would not book a place in July or August that does not have AC.