Apartments in Paris

What is your budget? Look at places at parisbestlodge.com; they have great apartments that look exactly as pictured. Check out http://www.parisbestlodge.com/quai.html but note that it is a walk up. Tourism is down in Paris this year and November is the off season so PBL may have availability but do not be surprised if they do not because they are often booked up a year in advance.

Get started by going to booking.com. Fill in the yellow form. Note that your teenagers may be considered as adults depending on their ages.

When you get your initial results, you can filter them in a number of ways. The first one should be by checking the apartments box. Ignore the star rating system because that is irrelevant to apartments. Pay attention to the review score. Personally, I don't consider anything below 8.

Then continue to mark things that are important to your group. At first I would ignore the price filter to see what comes up. Sort by review score. Note that each listing has the arrondissement. The lower the number, the closer to the city center.

This link -- http://europeupclose.com/article/paris-arrondissements-where-to-stay/ -- might help with deciding which one(s) to target.

There are many, many lists of apartments you can use. I'm sure others will respond with them. Booking.com will help you get a realistic view of options and costs.

I've stayed in the 7th arr in a hotel and in the 3rd in an apartment. I preferred the 3rd. The apartment we had was through VRBO, but it was only for 2 people, so not a place for your family.

I've never rented an apartment for 4, but we have had great success with renting in Paris. Our favorite agency is Guest Apartment https://www.guestapartment.com/ Have also booked through Vacation in Paris and Paris Autrement at different times but the apartments were more basic.

Wow! They have beautiful properties, but way out of our price range 😜

What IS your price range? You can also see apartment listings on VRBO and HomeAway and filter by price, area, size. Remember to check for booking fee, cleaning fee, management fee, security deposit, and cancellation charges. For a short stay, hotel may actually be better/cheaper.

I'll ask again. What is your budget? I suggested Paris Best Lodge because they are relatively middle of the road for agency offered apartments. I thought about suggesting Haven in Paris, Parisperfect or GAS (as mentioned above) but without your budget, it is difficult to make tailored suggestions. I notice that you have another general question on how to pick a neighborhood. If you are newbie to Paris, I suggest a hotel instead of an apartment. I get the feeling that the help that a front desk/concierge can provide will be helpful for your group.

Vacations in Paris has some mid-range apartments and their customer service is really quite good. Have you looked through their listings to see if anything fits your price range?

Since this is your first time in Paris, and you don't know anything about the city, you would probably be much happier in a hotel. You'll have the advantage of a 24/7 front desk staff to help with whatever you need. Though it's true that hotel rooms in Paris are not very large, it will be nice to come home to freshly-made beds and clean towels. If you require a kitchen, there are legal apart'hotels such as Adagio or Citadines, which have several convenient locations - price differs by neighborhood:
http://www.adagio-city.com/gb/home/index.shtml
http://www.citadines.com/en/index.html

The apartment situation in Paris is changing. There was a new law passed this July which will take effect in early Fall and aims to prevent tax-evasion. This will severely limit the number of legal vacation apartments which can be advertised on the internet - as of now, there are only 115 legal apartments in Paris. Since things are long from being settled, you risk a last-minute cancellation, which would leave you scrambling to find space for your family. You should really consider a hotel, instead.

Budget apartments that sleep 4 will typically not have 4 "real" beds or two full bathrooms. Kitchen facilities are usually minimal, and the apartment won't be very large at all. You can't drop your luggage if you arrive before check-in time, and hauling your belongings around in nasty November weather won't be any fun at all.

Here's a list of reasonably-priced hotels with either family rooms that sleep 4, or connecting rooms:
http://www.parishotelminerve.com/
http://www.academiehotel.com/en/rooms
http://www.hotelparismaraisbretonnerie.com/en/
http://www.hotel-marignan.com/
http://www.residencehenri4.com/en/rooms/ - an apart'hotel, with kitchen
http://www.hoteldelapaix.com/index_en.html
http://www.ihg.com/ - Crowne Plaza Republique hotel
http://www.lux-hotel-picpus.com/?lang=en

we are in Paris now, first trip 2 adults 2 teens we rented through Vacation in Paris -apt management company based out of New Jersey can't say enough positives about this company in thevstates and who we worked with here! we have an apt with a 1 bedroom and large pullout couch in the Latin quarter. it's a great apt and very comfortable. the location is wonderful we are literally just off a lively square. this is an area where the college kids/ younger crowd hang out but don't take that to mean a crazy drunk fest. just creates a lively environment for my girls. if your kids can share a very comfortable queen size pullout you may love this place. the location is so great a 5-10 min walk to pantheon and maybe 5 more to Luxemborg. we comfortably walked to Notre dame. a couple minute walk to the buses and everything you want to see in Paris. we rented the city bikes today. once we figured out the system it was so easy and a very convenient way to get around the city.

we are in Paris now, first trip 2 adults 2 teens we rented through Vacation in Paris -apt management company based out of New Jersey can't say enough positives about this company in the states and who we worked with here! we have an apt with a 1 bedroom and large pullout couch in the Latin quarter. it's a great apt and very comfortable. the location is wonderful we are literally just off a lively square. this is an area where the college kids/ younger crowd hang out but don't take that to mean a crazy drunk fest. just creates a lively environment for my girls. if your kids can share a very comfortable queen size pullout you may love this place. the location is so great a 5-10 min walk to pantheon and maybe 5 more to Luxemborg. we comfortably walked to Notre dame. a couple minute walk to the buses and everything you want to see in Paris. we rented the city bikes today. once we figured out the system it was so easy and a very convenient way to get around the city.

I've used Vacation in Paris and VRBO for apartments and also stayed at a Citadines apart-hotel - they were all great. Check them out to see what fits your needs/budget. Just be aware that Paris apartments are MUCH smaller than U.S. ones. Also make sure their bed count matches what you need. For me, a sofabed only sleeps one comfortably unless they're small children.

Since you're newbies, you'll probably want to stay in the more central, lower-numbered Arrondissements (neighborhoods, spanning #1-20) but I prefer being in the higher-numbered ones - they're away from all the tourists and feel more like you're "living" there rather than just visiting. Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to just relax at a cafe and/or wander the city - trying to see everything will just have you running from one place to another. And if you're planning to cook at least a few meals in your apartment kitchen, be sure to visit one of the 60-70 streets markets held on various days in various locations around town.

Bon voyage and I hope you end up loving Paris as much as I do!

Another recommendation for ParisBestLodge.
Thierry is the owner/manager; and is very efficient.
He lives in Paris, and answers every question, no matter how trivial it may be.
I stayed in the Luxembourg apartment in February, and it was fine for just me , and a friend who came over for a weekend.
You will need a bigger one, but they have lots on offer.

For all rental sites: read reviews, look at photos very closely; if it says it has a washing machine: look for that in a photo.
Cross -compare ; some apartments appear on multiple sites.
I've rented about 15 apts. over the years, only had one that was "iffy".

And yet another recommendation for Parisbestlodge.. have used them three times and always very happy. What you see in the photos is always what you get.

Thierry manages them ( he is part owner) and does an excellent job , he will meet you at apartment ( but he gives you the key codes so you can enter when you get there.. not stand out on the street!!) and he will show you how to use the washer/dryer, let you know where closest grocers are.. etc.. his English is perfect.

The only issue is does he have a large enough apartment for you.. ask him.. hes super helpful and replies to emails so quickly.