Paris Apartments

I know I’ve talked about this but haven’t really given much details so let’s play a little catch up before jumping into the apartment discussion. Mom takes each grandchild on a trip after his/her b’nai mitzvah. Becky went to London. Kevin went to California for a surfing contest. Jake wanted to go to the All-Star game last summer but that became too problematic (can you say extremely ridiculous prices?), so he asked if he could join Sammi in Paris for her trip. Now Dad really has no desire to go to Paris again, so I said, if he’s willing to watch Becky, I’d go in his place (I know, huge sacrifice). He jumped at the chance and everyone was happy (oh, and of course we said Jake could go – I think it will be way fun).

Originally, we had planned an April trip but then “It” happened, so we postponed (luckily no deposits had been made). Well, last week the doctor gave me the go ahead to start planning summer trips and of course, I jumped right in with apartment searches.

Since now, we’re planning on going in the summer, I had to start from scratch. You see for an April trip air-conditioning wasn’t required but now, in the summer, it is (and please don’t try to change my mind unless you’re willing to listen to my mother and daughter whine during a heat wave in Paris – and heck who are we kidding – really for the rest of their lives).

So here’s where I stand so far. I have yet to contact any owners/agencies but all the apartments I’ve found to date are plotted below. If you continue reading, you’ll also find links and some notes I made on each.

What I did not factor in are the Paris Perfect apartments, which are of course, lovely, and from past experience with London Perfect, have wonderful amenities, but are downright expensive, starting at €2415 for a two bedroom and rapidly rising in to the threes. I didn’t include them, but Mom may decide she wants the splurge – who knows. I also want to double check with an agency I was in contact with before, just to make sure they don’t have any air-conditioned apartments I overlooked.

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• St Germain – Deluxe Two Bedroom with Terrace – Rue De Buci – ground floor, 2bath, 650sq ft, no Internet, not a lot of pictures, no DVD. This apartment is also listed with Rental France. It’s a good market street but can be noisy
• Luxurious Air Conditioned Flat -Center Paris – Centre Pompidou – 6th floor (elevator), 2bath, WiFi, a/c living room – what about bedrooms? €1400 (may not be available), DVD.
• Perfect Parisian Apartment – 3rd arr, 2nd floor (no elev), 2bath, WiFi, €1800, no guest comments, living room looks a bit uncomfortable, DVD, quiet street but near good shopping streets and good markets
• Notre Dame, Ile De La Cite: 2BR/2BA, a/C, Terrace, Perfection – ground floor, 2bath, WiFi, terrace, No DVD,€1800
• Place Des Vosges, Marais 2BR/2BA a/C, Wifi Ideal Paris – floor?, 2bath, WiFi, no DVD, €1800, very few pictures of “living space”, no guest comments
• Luxury 2 BR/2 BA Apartment Place Des Vosges-Air-Conditioning – 2nd floor (elev), 835sqft, 2ba, WiFi, DVD, €2000, so far my favorite but building may be under construction a la Google Street View
• Champs de Mars Luxury Two Bedroom – 2nd floor (elev), 540sqft, 1bath, WiFi, no DVD, $2800, no picture of second bedroom
• Boulevard Latour Maubourg – 5th floor (elev), 750 sqft, 2bath, WiFi, DVD,
• Concorde – 5th floor, 750sqft, 2bath, €2275, high speed Internet, DVD also listed as Dazzling Jewel St. Germain – $2975
• 7th Arrondissement Eiffel Tower Vacation Rental – 750sq ft, 2bath, $2303/€1800, DSL, DVD, what floor? elevator? I like this one.
• 3rd Arrondissement Le Marais Vacation Rental aka Tournelles 2 – 2nd floor (no elev), €1950, 2ba, DVD, Broadband. This one looks good but 2 queen beds is a concern (need at least one with twins)
• 6th Arrondissement St Germain des Pres Vacation Rental – 770 sqft, 6th floor (elev to 5th), 2bath, WiFi, no DVD, double check a/c works (report that it didn’t in reviews), quieter street than Buci
• 3rd Arrondissement Le Marais Vacation Rental – €1500 – €2200, 3rd floor (no elev), DVD, WiFi, 2bath, also doesn’t look like twin beds available
• Apartment rental in 6th Arrondissement St Germain des Pres, France – Live in the Heart of Saint-Germain-des-Pres! – 800 sqft, $3150 (aka €2100), 1.5bath, DVD, WiFi, floor (elev?)? concerned about lack of pictures of living area, second bedroom is a murphy bed. Don’t know exact location.
• Luxurious Laborde – 8th arr, 900 sq ft, 2nd floor (elev), €1400, DVD, WiFi, looks nice – how’s the area. Do wonder about natural light in second bedroom, not near markets.

Update: We’re discussing these over on the Slow Travel Talk Forums too.