My husband and I are starting to plan a trip to Paris and London for next May. It seems like renting an apartment for a week in Paris will be less expensive than a hotel and give us access to kitchen, washer/dryer and other nice %26quot;home%26quot; amenities. I am trying to figure out which neighborhoods would be most convenient for sightseeing and relaxing. We want to see the usual tourist choices: the Louvre, Notre Dame, Musee d%26#39;Orsay, Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomph, Rodin Museum, etc., as well as just spend time relaxing in beautiful parks and gardens. I have looked at a map of the arrondissements, but do not have a good sense of how far things are from each other.
Please recommend neighborhoods that would be convenient for what we want to do. Most of the apartments I have seen listed so far are in the Montmartre or Marais areas.
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we have rented in the Marais, the Latin Quarter and in the area near the d%26#39;Orsay -- where the 6th and 7th join and in the 20th
people differ on what they prefer -- we hated the 6th/7th area -- it is upscale, full of antique stores and upscale tearooms and rather boring -- not enough bakeries and bistros -- too many expensive shops -- just not a fun area for us - I like to be able to go out in the morning to get fresh baked goods while my husband made the coffee
for a first timer I would recommend the Latin quarter (5th) close to Contrascarp, the Luxembourg Gardens or the Seine -- easy walk to many great sights including Notre Dame -- lots of local color and amenities
we also loved the Marais (4th) when we stayed there over Christmas one year -- a lively neighborhood
We loved the 20th but that was for a month where central location was not an issue -- the outer arrondisement are not good choices for a first trip
lots of good choices - you probably won%26#39;t go seriously wrong in any of the inner arrondisement
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Hi Kay-SD
There are others who can give you a much better idea of the particular neighbourhoods (arrondisements) than I can. But as someone whose just arrived back from her first trip, I know that these two sites (recommended here on TA) were invaluable.
The first is Mappy - http://www24.mappy.com/?lang=en
which gives you really clear information about exactly where something is or indeed how far away it is from something else. This is the web address for the English version and it%26#39;s really good fun.
Also run by Mappy is Photo de Villes at http://photos.mappy.com/
All you do is put in the address in Paris and it will show you a photo of what%26#39;s at that address. Then if you click the arrows it will show you photos of what%26#39;s next door or up and down the street so you can get a really clear idea of the immediate vacinity.
Enjoy the planning, it%26#39;s half the fun!
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