Paris vacation rentals and furnished apartments 

Check out this apartment where I just stayed:
link

What’s not to love? Walking distance from the Louvre, the Tuileries, the Palais Royale, the Marais, Ile de la Cité, l’Opéra, Place de la Concorde, the Rue de Rivoli, the Place Vendôme, and the wonderful market street – rue Montergueil.

Lots of public transportation as well including the Louvre- Palais Royal and Les Halles metros and nearby buses.

It’s on the second floor of an 18th century building that maintains its charm with archways, high ceilings with sculpted medallions, enormous windows, and the original parquet floors. It has plenty of modern touches as well, including the fully-equipped kitchen and bathroom. The building is very quiet, which is wonderful for such a central location. We never heard the neighbors and there is very little traffic noise.

The only downside I can think of about this apartment is that it is a French second floor walk up. We knew that as Sophie, the owner, told us about it and it wasn’t a problem for us but some people might not want to be in a building with no elevator.

You could have a party in here with plenty of seating for 15 people. Two sofas, a dining table with four chairs, desks and chairs, bar with four stools. The furnishing are in excellent shape and very attractive. A classical French look. It’s inviting and comfortable. Everything was perfectly clean.

I was the designated sofa bed sleeper and I must confess to having been a little concerned that I would not sleep comfortably, but this is an extremely comfortable sofa bed with a firm mattress and no springs to poke you in the back.

The bed in the master bedroom is very comfortable as well, reports my friend. It was great that there was a full-length mirror in the master bedroom and other very good mirrors in the living room and bathroom. The travertine and tile bathroom is beautiful and very functional. The shower is excellent – plenty of hot water – and there is a sunken soaking tub. I particularly liked the heated floor tiles, which are very nice when getting out of the shower on a cold February morning.

Fortunately, I was staying here with a very good friend, because you have to go through the master bedroom to use the bathroom. The kitchen is very usable and includes lots of appliances (two coffee pots – one a very fancy espresso maker), a large refrigerator/freezer, microwave, four burner stove, full sized oven, washer/dryer, and electric teapot. One trick I had to learn was that you have to open the door to the washer-dryer to get in a few of the cabinets because they have put a lot into a small space. There are plenty of dishes, glasses, and cutlery, as well as pots and pans and serving platters and bowls.

Sadly, I had to do a bit of work in Paris, so wifi that really worked was very important to me. This wifi worked without fail.

Also, it was great that I could telephone the United States for free on the house phone.

Although, I didn’t spend time watching TV, the cable seemed to have an enormous selection of channels in French, English, and several other languages.

The owner, Sophie, and her representative, who met me at the apartment, Laurent, did everything to make me feel very welcome. Laurent showed me how all the appliances work (which might have been mystifying otherwise, although there is a guide with information for anything that I forgot) and recommended good places to eat in the neighborhood. They left us a bottle of champagne as well as tea and cocoa.

There are many wonderful places to eat and drink and shop in the neighborhood. We shopped for our dinners at the market on rue Montergueil (how great it is to have a well-equipped kitchen and dining area to take advantage of all the fresh produce and wonderful cheeses and rotisserie chicken!)

We particularly loved the nearby boulangerie/patisserie Gosselin on 25 rue Saint-Honoré at the corner of rue de Louvre where we bought our morning croissants au beurre and baguettes. This bakery was one of the many gems recommended to us by the owner of the apartment, Sophie, and it definitely earned a place in our hearts (and stomachs) as well as the 2nd prize in the national contest for the best baguette in France. (I can’t even imagine what the 1st place baguette could have tasted like.)

There are many cafés and creperies on the same block and a grocery store a few blocks away. We certainly lacked for nothing in this neighborhood.

The place was as good or better than what I was expecting. I would recommend it to my best friend and will make it my base on my next trip to Paris.