My wife and I are planning to spend 2 weeks in September 2023 in or near Paris. We have been to Paris many times, and my wife prefers not to stay in the city proper. I have located an apartment to rent in Malakoff, just south of Paris, on the metro 13 line. Has anyone stayed/spent time in Malakoff? Is it a safe area? Is it a pleasant area, with lots of restaurants, brasseries, cafes, patisseries, traiteurs, etc.? We want to avoid an area that is noisy at night with a lot of bars and noise. We plan to take the metro or a bus into Paris to see some museums and churches, etc. in the city. Thanks. Peter
It is a safe residential area, but it is very quiet indeed and there are few restaurants and cafés compared to Paris. Even food shopping can be a bit of a walk. In the same general area, I prefer Montrouge on line 4. And my favorite Paris-adjacent suburb is Vincennes, off line 1 and RER A.
By the way, there are plenty of quiet areas in Paris proper, so unless the goal is to save money, I am not sure that there are that many compelling reasons not to stay in Paris.
Funny you asked about Malakoff because someone in my ex-pat group just posted about this traditional brasserie in Malakoff. https://autimbreposte.com/m/
I lived in an adjacent suburb decades ago and remember a flea market there on Sundays. Everything depends on your access to transportation, in my opinion.