Apartment Rentals

We've come to expect encounters such as we had in Paris locating Mme. Thaye and our home-away-from-home. Apartment "check-in" is nothing like checking into a hotel, and sometimes even the most experienced apartment renter can be caught off-guard by a seemingly uninspiring facade. But once you step inside, you experience one of the most interesting and authentic ways to visit Paris.

In the City of Lights, you have two apartment types to choose from: a private apartment, such as we rented, or a residence or apart-hotel. The residence will usually be longer on services—e.g., desk/concierge, dry cleaning, perhaps a laundromat, and a convenience store—but shorter on personality. Residences take stays for as short as one night, but don't seem practical for just an overnight visit. Among the best residences in France are those of the Citadines group, with 10 locations in Paris alone. Their properties are conveniently located, usually in older, rehabbed buildings. Units are reasonably spacious, with new if somewhat conventional and simple furnishings.

Spring/Summer 1996