An Apartment in Montmartre

Details

The Apartment:

A delightful, airy 1-bedroom apartment of 25m2 (270 sq ft) with an open-plan kitchen, fully furnished with lots of light and equipped with everything you’ll need for your comfort and convenience. Why stay in a cramped and overpriced Parisian hotel room when you can live like a real Parisian, right here in charming Montmartre? While we can’t offer you extravagant views of the city monuments, we CAN offer you a fabulous location (view the map!) in one of the most interesting and historic parts of Paris. When you meander through the winding streets of Montmartre, you will feel like you are back in another time and place! Yet you are only 15 minutes from the center of Paris — for a much more affordable price than central Paris can offer!

As you enter the apartment, you’ll find yourself in the spacious salon (living room) with open kitchen and breakfast bar. The kitchen includes a refrigerator, washer (we also provide a folding rack for drying clothes), microwave/grill-oven, coffee maker, tea pot, dishes and cookware. The breakfast bar can accommodate two people for meals, unless you prefer to dine at the coffee table.

The salon contains a queen sofa-bed which sleeps two adults (or two children — sorry, no crib or toddler bed), and two dressers for storage. Three large windows provide lots of natural light and fresh air. A flatscreen cable TV/DVD, free Internet/WiFi, free international calls to 150 countries world-wide from our landline phone, a small selection of books, and an iPod/iPhone/MP3 stereo with clock-radio offer entertainment while you’re relaxing after a “hard day” of sightseeing.

Off the salon are two doors: one is for the WC/toilet (it is quite typical in France for the toilet to be located in a separate “closet” from the bathing facilities; that’s just how the French like it!), the other leads to the bedroom and shower room.

The bedroom, although small, contains a comfortable queen-size bed (140x190cm), shelves for your odds and ends, and a small armoire. A double window provides a lovely view, so typical of Montmartre, of private courtyards and balconies as well as some green space. The bedroom, located off the street, allows for a restful night’s sleep.

Just off the bedroom is the small but updated and well-planned shower room with stall shower and sink; a hairdryer is provided for your convenience. Storage is provided for your personal items during your stay.

Other information:

• Length of Stay:
  • 5 nights minimum to up to 3 months. Inquire if interested in a stay longer than 3 months or shorter than 5 nights – we are sometimes able to make exceptions.
• General Amenities:
  • Linens/Towels provided
  • Hair Dryer provided
  • Shower room separated from toilet/WC (in the typical French style)
  • No Air Conditioning, but we provide electric fans in warm weather, and there is generally a comfortable temperature in the apartment due to the double exposure and good air circulation. Fully heated in cooler weather, of course!
  • A complete directory is provided in the apartment to make your stay easy and enjoyable, containing such useful information as how to operate the appliances, restaurant and shopping recommendations, maps/information on public transportation, and much more! We are also a phone call away in the event there is any difficulty and you need assistance.
• Beds:
  • Sleeps from 1 to 4 people (4 max)
  • Queen-size (140×190) bed in bedroom sleeps 2
  • Queen-size (140×190) sofa bed in salon sleeps 2
  • Sorry, no cribs, sleeping bags or air mattresses, and we cannot accommodate more than 4 people sleeping in the apartment under ANY circumstances
• Kitchen:
  • 2-burner electric stove
  • Microwave/grill combo
  • Coffee maker and electric hot-water boiler (for tea)
  • Clothes washer (no dryer) and drying rack
  • Iron and ironing board
  • Vacuum for quick clean-ups
  • All cooking utensils and tableware provided
  • We provide cooking staples such as salt, pepper, sugar, olive oil, etc., as well as basic household supplies (cleaning products, detergent for the washing machine and dishes).
  • Sorry, no dishwasher or full oven
• Communications and Entertainment:
  • Broadband Internet/WiFi
  • Telephone with free local & international calling to 150 countries
  • Flat screen TV with Blueray DVD (feel free to bring your own movies) and cable service
  • Books: we provide a small selection of reading material, as well as maps and tourist guides for our guests to use during their stay
• Suitability and Accessibility:
  • No pets allowed
  • No smoking allowed
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • No elevator, but we are only one flight up from street level
  • No children under age 7. We regret that we are NOT equipped for infants or young children (no child-appropriate beds, and the apartment is not child-proofed, particularly the windows which have no child safety features). If you have concerns about the facilities for young children, please inquire before booking. Children at least 7 and up would be quite safe and comfortable here.
  • Sleeps 4, maximum (please don’t ask us to make exceptions, we really do not have the space!)

The Building:

A small, intimate 3-story building, typically Montmartrois in design, containing only three apartments. Our apartment is on the 2nd floor (U.S.)/1st floor (French); i.e., it’s only “one flight up” from the ground floor. There is no elevator. A digital security code is needed to enter the building; the apartment has a special steel security door (porte blindée).

The Street:

Rue Durantin (view the map!) intersects with Rue Tholozé (which has one of Paris’ two remaining windmills right at the top of the street; the famous Moulin de la Galette is a 2 minute walk) and goes down to Place des Abbesses at the bottom! Rue des Abbesses and Rue Lepic are just 1 block away. Rue Durantin is generally a quiet street filled with art studios, restaurants and small boutiques. It is also across the street from a historic building with the Cour aux Juifs, where many movies have been filmed. During the day, you might hear the sound of children playing in the nearby school yard; the local Montmartrobus passes just around the corner, but not between 1am and 6:30am. This part of rue Durantin where our apartment is located is actually blocked from traffic passing by, because of the school, which helps reduce the street noise.

About safety in the neighborhood: While pickpockets can always be found anywhere in Paris (your host once found this out the hard way), this area IS considered to be very safe. A recent long-term tenant (16 months) of this apartment was a single professional woman, age 25, who told us she’d never had a problem walking home alone, day or night, and always felt safe. And don’t forget – we live in Montmartre also, with children, and if it wasn’t safe we’d live somewhere else! As in any big city, just practice common-sense strategies to protect yourself and your belongings when out and about, and you should have nothing to fear!

The Neighborhood:

Located in the most desirable quartier in Montmartre — Abbesses — this lovely 1-bedroom apartment is here to make your stay both comfortable and memorable. Within 2 to 10 minutes, you can wander anywhere in Montmartre, from the Sacre Coeur and the Place du Tertre to the last remaining vineyard in Paris. Artists, musicians and writers have made Montmartre their home and creative muse for centuries. Whereas other parts of Paris were updated in the Haussmannian style during the 1800s, Montmartre still retains much of its original character and charm, along with some more recent art deco buildings. Cobblestone streets wind in all directions on the “butte” (big hill); smaller buildings and charming houses, many of them with colorful painted details and flower boxes, make you feel like you’ve traveled back in time or that you’re actually in a small French village instead of in the capital city of France! Come and see why people love living here!

• Points of Interest in the immediate neighborhood:
  • Shopping – rue des Abbesses, the market on rue Lepic (2 min)
  • Museums – Musée de Montmartre, Espace Dali
  • Restaurants – we’ll share our local favorites, which range from classic French to Thai to Japanese to Italian/Pizza to Seafood and more, but encourage you to experiment! Montmartre has dozens of good restaurants from which to choose.
  • Cinema/Movie Theaters – place de Clichy & rue des Abbesses
  • Sacre Coeur and Place du Tertre (7 min)
  • Moulins de la Galette (2 min)
  • Moulin Rouge and Place Pigalle (5 min)
• Transportation:
  • Metro/RER: metro line 12 is nearest (2 min walk to Abbesses), and will take you to the center of Paris (Concorde) in 15 minutes. Metro lines 4 and 2 are both within a 5-10 min walk, and can whisk you to sights such as Père Lachaise Cemetery, Arc du Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Sorbonne/Pantheon, and much more. Via connections from lines 4 and 12, you can also access the RER lines A, B and C to visit sites such as Disneyland, Versailles and much more.
  • Train: Gare du Nord, Gare du l’Est and Gare Saint-Lazare are the closest in proximity. Gare Montparnasse is across town but on the line 12 which stops at Abbesses near the apartment. From these other stations, you can day-trip to Chartres or Chantilly, or travel further into France or elsewhere in Europe (including the Eurostar to London or Brussels) by rail.
  • The 80 and 95 buses run north-to-south into the center of Paris (the 80 stops at the Champs-Elysées and the Eiffel Tower, and the 95 stops at Grand Magasins, Opera Garnier, the Louvre and the Left Bank/Saint Germain-des-Prés), and both have stops just a 2-minute walk from the apartment. The 30 bus stops at Place de Clichy, Blanche and Pigalle and can take you to Gare du Nord or Gare du l’Est in minutes.
  • Plane: Both Charles de Gaulle/Roissy and Orly airports have train service to Paris via the RER line B which stops at Gare du Nord (closest stop to the apartment). From there you have several options to reach us. Or, you can take a taxi from either airport. Typical travel time from Charles de Gaulle, which is closest, is about 30-45 minutes by taxi depending upon traffic; Orly, to the far south of Paris, will take 45-60 minutes.
  • When planning your trip, we’re happy to consult with you about best transportation options including taxis and shuttle services from the airports.
• Proximity to other points of interest:
  • Center of Paris (i.e. Notre Dame, Musée d’Orsay, the Champs Elysées or Louvre) – about 15-20 min by metro or bus
  • Eiffel Tower – about 20-25 min by bus or metro/RER C
  • Disneyland Paris – about 35 min via RER A from the center of Paris; buy your tickets in advance online to save time.
  • Versailles – about 30 min via RER C from the center of Paris, then a short walk from the station to the chateau; buy tickets online to save time, and try to arrive extra early to avoid the massive crowds in the chateau. Check the schedule online if you want to visit on days when the gorgeous fountains are operating (complete with classical music piped throughout the gardens!)
  • “Grand Magasins” Galeries Lafayette and Printemps – about 15 min by metro or bus. Bon Marché is a bit farther but easily accessible by metro in about 20-25 min.

Montmartre is our favorite part of Paris (Georges, a native Parisian, has lived here for more than 25 years; Lisa, an American from New Jersey, says that Montmartre makes her forget she’s actually living in a big city), and we think that after you stay here in your own Apartment in Montmartre, you’ll feel the same. We look forward to being your hosts and helping you create your own wonderful memories here in Paris.

Lisa and Georges