“Nice” and Cheap areas outside of Paris with access to CDG?

Can you translate $Cdn to Euro?

€130-140 at current rates.

Booking.com is probably a good place to start to get an idea of what might be available.

CDN$200 = ~133 euro

Is the limit per room or are you trying to find lodging for 4 for under 135 euro?

And in July you will want a/c.

I suspect your odds of success are only marginally better than finding an ice machine in Satan's domicile

Hopefully you can prove me wrong

My $0.02 fee waived.

An easy commute between CDG and Paris suggests somewhere along RER route B - look at the route map and see what communities it passes through and start looking there. Drancy, for example. Arcueil is on the B on the other side of Paris. But if it meets your criteria, go for it.

Versailles came to mind as it is a "nice" bedroom community for Paris. But it's on RER C.

You may have a challenge getting everything you want for that price - especially if relying on public transportation,

Thanks for all the thoughts. $200 Canadian a night budget is about $135 Euros - way too few coins for luxuries such as AC.

I’ve looked at a few on Bookings.com. Any in that budget say to contact the owner through WhatsApp to book. Scams? Maybe some are legit but without a personal recommendation this sounds sketchy to me.

I’ve given up on 2 bedrooms and two baths. Son says he and the misses are fine with a pullout.

I did find what looks to be a legit place on VRBO. 11 min walk to Notre Dame. In the Marais neighbourhood. Apartment looks OLD. A good old and Google street view looks like what I had hoped for. Anyone been to this area?

The Marais is wonderfully central. It can be a bit noisy because it is so popular (and nightlife a gogo)..But it's a great location.

What’s the address in Arcueil? I lived there. My husband grew up there.

It has the RER B going through it, but if you aren’t near the RER, you’ll be taking buses to the closest metro or RER stop. It’’s only the second stop outside of Paris and it is a straight shot to CDG. Very easy access if you are near the La Place or Arcueil-Cachan stops.

Hi
I couldn’t see an exact address for the one outside of Paris. But the general area didn’t seem to have much for restaurants or shops or groceries. As we won’t be renting a car it would be nice to be close to walk to this.

The other place seems to have all that but might not work out. Hopefully it’s just a translation problem. I did read that it is rather noisy at night until 2 am or so. Seems like lots of trade offs to be made. Either way I’m sure it will be an adventure.

Don't forget to factor in the city tax, it's increased by 200% to pay for the bus system used during the olympics. My wife and I were stung last week for over €8 each per night despite not using public transport and not even staying in Paris (we were in the wider Ile de France area). Fortunately my son and his girlfriend are both 17 so they weren't charged. I'll be sticking to Spain in future.

Your budget sounds inadequate. I would want air conditioning in Paris in July. I normally avoid vacation properties because they are so harmful to the local housing economy. I also believe, as they say on TripAdvisor NYC, "To visit NYC, stay in NYC." You are cutting at least an hour off your front and back end of each sightseeing day. And I often observe that having pop-tarts and pod coffee machine for breakfast can hardly be considered "living local."

As a long-time city dweller, I consider that since CDG has the RER, it has affordable public transit. I often take the CDG bus to the Place de L'Opera because we always stay downtown, walkable to the Louvre usually.

Is the city tax usually included in rentals. Or is it a surprise? This is the first I’ve heard about it.

Budget is definitely inadequate for lots of conveniences. I’m agreeing that staying in Paris is the way to go.

If my latest option doesn’t work I found another even closer to Notre Dame with a 5 flight walk up - one of those little compromises. Good way to wear off the extra morning pastry.

Yes short term rentals over all seem to be destroying affordable housing. One that I’m looking at though seems to be a person’s home. It looks like they leave when it’s rented - likely an important part of their income. World is complex.

I notice you said Bookings.com, not Booking.com. I use Booking.com and find, when I click on a property, any taxes, etc. are mentioned in the price box, so no surprises there. Double check that you were on the right site and not some scam/copy site.

When we rent a property of a VRBO type, we use Gites de France, a very good way to find properties outside the city. Best of luck finding something in your price range. I predict lots of compromises in store, but you know best what you are comfortable with.

I don’t know if this would work for you, but we stayed here in 2018 and loved it. Great market in town, neighbor who sold wine out of his garage. Not sure if it fits the budget, either (need to fill in dates).
https://www.airbnb.com/slink/WOEExL0I

I think I mistyped. I was on Booking.com.

Lovely house. Not available for our dates. I think we’d rather be crammed together in a tiny place in the city.

Would Montmartre be a location to consider. Not walkable to what we want to see but sounds lovely overall.

And I often observe that having pop-tarts and pod coffee machine for breakfast can hardly be considered "living local."

Probably not the pop-tart but certainly pod coffee would be considered "living like a local". I always start my day with a pod coffee so if someone visited Portsmouth would I not be considered a local? Coffee pod machines are ubiquitous throughout Europe and for those that own one then that would be the first coffee of the day. The majority of Europeans don't go and visit their local cafe, coffee shop or bar for breakfast, it's usually consumed at home.

Could you give us the VRBO# for the Marais Apartment so we can get an idea of the location and the apartment itself?

Is the city tax usually included in rentals. Or is it a surprise? This is the first I’ve heard about it.

Ours was presented on check out when it came to finalise the bill so it was a surprise to us. It probably wouldn't have been if I'd done a bit of due diligence but it certainly wasn't included in the upfront price.

The Maries apartment sadly isn’t available. The couple only rent it when they are away. They had the dates wrong. It’s VRBO 6053314.

Friends rented a place for a month in Colombes outside Paris last year and I was surprised how quickly we trained out there and back for dinner. And it was a not unpleasant villagy sort of place with good local amenities. Not Paris and for only 4 nights I'd hate to have to spend that much time commuting.

Just a side note...Last year in France for a month, and a good part of that time we stayed with family members in various locations, or for a day's visit. I was surprised that every household (six total) had a pod coffee machine. Even our wonderful gite in the Dordogne had one! When there were five or more of us, they used the normal French press to make coffee, if we were all sitting down together. When there were fewer people, or when we were coming down to breakfast in a staggered way, we used the pod machine. (N.B. I don't have one here in the states and don't intend to get one.) But they seemed to be well-accepted in France!

I haven't seen anybody mention the registration number to be found in the apartment description. In its absence be very suspicious.

JC, here's living local: I'll admit that this is an old story, but one time I returned to Reggio Emilia, Italy for business in 1987, I took a sleeve of "Happy to Serve You" Greek-diner blue paper coffee cups. One morning, on the way to work, I went into a pre-Starbucks and very local coffee bar, and presented a cup, with the request, "da portare via, per piacere." They looked at me like I was from another planet. How could I give up the good fellowship of their stand-up, freshly steam-expressed coffee shop, in a hot china cup to boot?

I might remind you that before 2000, U.K. cuisine had a sort of ... bad name. Not so in Italy or France.

"Is the city tax usually included in rentals. Or is it a surprise? This is the first I’ve heard about it."

I am assuming that you are traveling in July 2025. It is possible that the tax will be decreased in 2025. When the tax was increased, it was presented as an increase for 2024. Now that is not to say that it might not stay in place going forward but it is possible that it will go back to prior rates. That's probably unlikely but it is possible. The tax is supposed to apply to furnished rentals and it currently ranges from 2.60€ to 14.95€ per oerson per night. Given the types of apartments that you are looking at, I doubt the tax will be more than around 6€ per night per person. Booking.com does not include the tax in the nightly rates for apartments but they include language that says the tax is excluded under the column entitled "Today's Price." Airbnb adds the tax during the check out which I think is odd because only person over 18 have to pay it and they do not ask how many people over 18 are in the party. I have no idea what VRBO does. I've never seen the tax included in the rate for a hotel room that I booked directly with the hotel but there has always been language on the booking page mentioning that the tax is not included.

Montmarte is adorable and a fun place to explore for the day, but it so absolutely hilly and inconvenient to the hub of things; that I wouldn't stay there.

Thanks. I do want to visit that area and while charming, it doesn’t sound ideal for us.

I might remind you that before 2000, U.K. cuisine had a sort of ... bad name. Not so in Italy or France.

Usually perpetuated by people who had never set foot in the UK.

As for coffee pods, they're hugely popular throughout Europe (Nespresso is Swiss) and France and Italy leads the way in household consumption so I guess not everyone is popping down to their local cafe for their morning coffee.

I know that many people like to have a romanticised idea of life in Europe but the reality is that for the most part people are leading busy lives and home prepared coffee whether it be pod, filter or press are how many "locals" start their day.

I ended up booking this place.
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/1139730667415328853?adults=4&location=Paris%2C%20France&search_mode=regular_search&check_in=2025-06-28&check_out=2025-07-02&source_impression_id=p3_1725910281_P3X4ELlaN-KtQ_qx&previous_page_section_name=1001&federated_search_id=fcc52121-f49b-4009-9144-999bce59886d

Looks livable for 4 nights. I’m hoping close to Les Halles for easy access to the train is a good thing. If not please let me know.

Thanks.

I am going to bet based on glancing at the reviews that the place will be relatively noisy at night. A reviewer mentions that it is near Sentier station and couple mention that the place could be cleaner. You will be very central so that will be good.
Please have a Plan B in case this place gets canceled. I mention that because you have a strict budget and four people and having to find a place at the last minute in Paris in July could be a huge challenge if you are starting from scratch. I'm not saying that Francois is going to cancel because I hope that he does not but rather that you should plan for what to do if that happens. I recently had an AirBnb that my BFF arranged for us to stay for her daughter's graduation cancel on the day that we were to check in. This place was a 5-minute walk from campus. Nothing else was available on AirBnb in the town for four people. AirBnb gave up on trying to find a replacement. Eventually, she found a hotel that was a 30-minute drive away from campus and it took eight days for her to get her money back from AirBnb. The good news is that they paid for the hotel.

I’ve never had any issues with vacation rentals cancelling. They seem to need good reviews to thrive or at least survive. I can’t cancelling especially last minute would be 5 stars.

Hopefully it doesn’t happen but a backup plan is always wise.

I googled the exact address and “looked” around. Area is a bit run down but looks fine. I’ve stayed in areas of New York that look far worse. A couple of cocktail bars close by but nothing that looks noisy. I’m hoping the AC can drown out any problems. The bakery around the corner looks well able to makeup for any little issues the place might have.

Thanks for all the advice.

For information: if a reservation is cancelled, the potential renter can’t leave a review. Only people who stayed at a property can review it.

That doesn’t seem right.