Oh my goodness - I really need some guidance

I find it hard to believe the apartments are booked thru Oct 2023. That's more than a year out. I'd suspect they are not taking reservations for that far in advance.

Or had you been looking and they are suddenly "full"?

Where to go -- then - which arrondissements ....

I find it hard (no, impossible) to believe that every apartment in Paris is rented for October 2023. I'm surprised rentals are even listed that far ahead, because there are usually rate adjustments under consideration. I suppose one single company (you mentioned Cobblestone) could be an outlier for some reason, but I can assure you that October 2023 is not booked up. More likely it's not yet available.

I wouldn't go to Paris in November unless I planned to spend virtually all my time inside museums, but some folks are more tolerant of the chilly-and-wet combination (and the very short days at that time of year) than I am. You can review actual, historical, day-by-day weather statistics for most cities on the website timeanddate.com. I highly recommend checking at least the most recent five years:

Paris November 2021

Paris November 2020

Paris November 2019

Paris November 2018

Paris November 2017

It can also be useful to check the climate-summary chart included in most Wikipedia articles about cities. The chart shows an average of under 68 hours of sunshine for the entire month of November. That's very low. You might want to compare it to what you find in the Wikipedia chart for a large city near you. (The figure for my hometown, Washington DC, is 150 hours.)

Personal opinion -- We have noticed that booking far in advance as you are trying generally is generally not available. Six months is a more reasonable time frame. I would keep trying for the next six months or so. We have never encountered many problems booking a few weeks, maybe six, before arrival.

Ok - November is off the table.

It is my intention to book closer to the end of this year or slightly into 2023.

I will track them at that point and hopefully there will be availability.

Thanks for the feedback.

Actually, reread your post -- will look starting at six months out.

Paris in November can get pretty dire, weather-wise. Stick with October.
Perhaps you could check availability for October 2022? This will get you a better view of what's available 6-ish months before your travel date.

There's no way bookings are open for October 2023 already: how could hotels/apartments know how much to charge this far in advance?

I was in Paris right after Thanksgiving. Yes it was rainy and cold, but it was Paris. You deal. We saw an opening and we took it, and we are so glad we did (since we dodged Omnicron by doing that).

I have been checking for October of 2022 - everything is booked - I would expect that - I think apartments are popular.

I think I will widen my search a bit - back to Booking.com to research - so I have a list of choices - best to not put all my eggs in one basket...

Or, use one of those hotel thingys. They're quite the rage.

Hotel thingys?

September is the big month for conventions and hotels. October in our experience of many Octobers has wonderful weather. November in our experience of a couple of Novembers has terrible weather. There is no way apartments are all booked up for October now. i.e. October 23. FWIW. We booked for last October 21 in June 21.

I have read that it is advisable to book an apartment - a year in advance - I have a list of hotels - that I compiled - so I have options if the apartment does not work out …

Think this is what pared was referring to.

https://en.parisinfo.com/where-to-sleep-in-paris/aparthotels

Amenities of a hotel but apartments.

I don't believe anyone has mentioned in this thread that Paris has been cracking down on illegal apartment rentals (which was most of them) for several years. I'm not a user of Airbnb, but I gather from reading this forum that the number of listings in Paris is much, much lower than it was back in, say, 2012. That may well affect availability. In addition to traditional apartments, there are aparthotels--set up as hotels but with all accommodations having at least some form of kitchen. Depending on your reason for preferring apartments, one of those might be an option for you.

WOW! Many thanks for all the info!

I don't know what your specific needs are, but there are tons of places on Airbnb. Just make sure they have a lot of good reviews and the registration #

I'm going to provide a bit of a contrary opinion regarding traveling in the offseason. I have major work deadlines every May 15th and November 15th, making it nearly impossible for me to travel from March - May and from September - November. Traveling during the height of summer does not appeal to us (although we have a kiddo nearing school-age, so we'll have to endure that soon enough), so most of our trips to Europe begin shortly after November 15th and conclude a few weeks later. We've been to England, Italy, France, Germany, Slovakia, Belgium, and the Netherlands, all during November and December and find it to be magical. Not only are there fewer tourists, but Christmas decorations start to appear, mulled wine is (usually) available, and we love being able to hole up in cafes with delicious food and watch the world go by.

Will you have cold, rainy days? Yes. Will you also have bright, crisp, sunny days? Probably!

Our most recent trip was to France in the fall of 2021. We arrived in Lyon on November 17, visited Beaune, Colmar, and finally Paris for the week of December 1-7, before flying home on December 8. We only had one day where rain altered our plans, which just meant extra cafe time instead of wandering through the Tuileries. Otherwise, we bundled up and bad weather didn't impact us at all!

Many, many thanks for your insightful comments …!

Just curious. Did you check booking.com for apartments? They are listed there as well as hotels.

I have - I did finally settle on the Cobblestone Apartments - I have also looked at Air B&B - I have not been able to locate a 13 digit number - proofing that they are legitimate on any of the listings - so I guess they are not.. I also compiled a list of hotels that offer triples or family rooms - small number - after checking the Google street views- reviews and locations - and just to track - I checked availability for this October and only one hotel did not have rooms available on our dates - I think all will be well and if we stay in the 9th as opposed to the 3rd- or whatever - we will be in Paris and that’s all that matters!

I have gone to Paris in October and rented my apartment about 10 months out. The registration number on AirBNB is usually under the description and with some you may have to click "Show more" and it is at the bottom (and you should be expanding this section always and read everything). There are plenty of licensed apartment available 10/2023 for calendars that are open this far out.
It really does depend on where you stay, if you are there for a short time and in one of the outer arrondissements then you will spend lots of time on the metro getting into and out of city center, not to mention not having the convenience of being able to go back to the apartment in the middle of the day to rest/eat.
I have never heard of cobblestone (website? Property mgmt? 3rd party?) and when looking for an apartment you really should be using multiple listing agents to find what you want. Booking.com, VRBO, AirBNB.
If using AirBNB make sure you read at least 20+ reviews, translating the foreign language ones, and only pick an apartment with 50+ reviews.
I always book lodging first (Make sure they have a generous cancellation policy) then flights about 3-6 months before the trip.

Oh and there is plenty of availability for October 2022:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4160307?adults=2&location=Paris%2C%20France&check_in=2023-10-06&federated_search_id=1f6efa28-d438-446c-8b18-295a7c06c9f1&source_impression_id=p3_1648100926_ptzNkc1LgdM%2FUnb%2B&guests=1&check_out=2023-10-27

Cobblestone is an established company that people on the Forum have been using for years.

I can't vouch for them myself, but I can't remember ever seeing any complaints about them here (and lots of recommendations).

Many thanks!

I did receive a post from Cobblestone informing me that the apartments are not completely booked through October 2023. You all were right! She told me that I can book in October of this year.

In addition, when I went to the Air BnB site for Paris lodgings -- each listing has the 13 digit number.

So, I will make a list of possibilities and compare price and such and off we go!

Rachael