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Paris: is it an ok location ?

Hi !
we have found an appartment on airbnb that seems nice for our family trip to Paris this july. is  passage Ramey (in the 18th 3 minutes walk from Marcadet-Poissonier metro,  5 from Jules Jofrin) is a good location to visit Paris ? We know we will have to take the Metro. The price is good (135 euros) and the reviews are very good. 

Thanks !

Posted by
7731 posts

Yes this is a good area; you won't see a lot of tourists it is very diverse working class.
It is not for everyone if you have not been to Paris.
I stayed in the area twice but have been Paris many times over 15 years.

Posted by
7981 posts

How long will you be in Paris. While the area is okay, it is certainly a not very charming fairly gritty area and it is not very convenient. If you are there a week or two location matters a lot less.

Posted by
3656 posts

I'd say this is an okay location. It's not great but it's also not bad. It's okay. And okay can work. Does the apartment have AC? Many do not and there is a good chance you will need it. I do not like AC and I have had to use it in Paris every summer since 2013. I say the apartment is okay because it is not very central (but you know that already). You are quite near the 18th arrondissement's police building, which can be a plus. Also, on the plus side, it is only about a 15-minute ride on Line 4 to the center of Paris. As long as you accept that you will have to take the metro and that the area immediately outside the door of the apartment building is not especially charming, you should be fine.

Posted by
32523 posts

and you will have checked for the 13 digit registration number showing it is a legal rental

Posted by
6787 posts

Referring to a comment above, there's nothing gritty about Passage Ramey and the area, which has become quite 'trendy', especially in recent years. It is basically "Montmartre through the back door", if I may. You are close to two metro lines (4 and 12) which are both quite convenient for tourists, BUT indeed the immediate area of Château Rouge line 4 station is gritty.

Posted by
776 posts

Agree with Balso. The specific area is not gritty and shopping around the Mairie (Jules Joffrin metro) on rue Ordener is good. Bus #80 cuts across the 8th and 7th to Porte de Versailles past tourist destinations such as the Champs, Ecole militaire. The reverse ride to Jules Joffrin down Montmartre is like a roller coaster ride. Your kids will love it. The tiny bus that winds around the streets of Montmartre, Bus #40, starts at the the church across the street from the Mairie. Its return trip from Le Pelletier will take you up the trendy rue des Martyrs. The bus #85 from the Mairie will take you to the Louvre. The gritty area is East of Blvd Barbes. The metro stop Chateau Rouge is one to avoid.

Posted by
357 posts

Thanks for all those answers !

The rental I got have AC, maybe not the most efficient but people dont complain about it. It’s not the ebst location in Paris, but 3 minutes walk to the metro will do the trick. Even if we have to take the metro every days it wont add much to the cost. Getting a rental in the very center would add a lot to the cost.

Anyways, the reservation is made and I can cancel it for free until july 1. So I still got plenty of time to look at other options.w

Balso ans anyone from Paris, not clear where Montmartre is exactly, I thought my rental was in it. Theres also good deal outside the periphérique ( montrouge or la Défense) can it be a good option too ?

Posted by
776 posts

Montmartre is an area in the 18th arrondissement bounded roughly by Ave. de Clichy or rue Damremont (depending on whether one includes the cemetiere de Montmartre,) rue Ordener, blvd. Barbes and Blvds. Clichy and Rochechouart. Being a Butte it has sides. The front side where all the tourists are and the backside where you would be staying which is still pretty much in the hands of Paris residents. Tourists don't get this way much so it's wise to pay little attention to their remarks because few have been in the exact area you have mentioned. I travel over there on the #60 bus almost weekly because rue Ordener is a very good walking street and I like the area. Listing Montreal, may I assume you are French speaking?

Staying outside the perif. is not such a good idea because of the travel times.

Posted by
3656 posts

"I’m staying in Paris next week in an Airbnb apartment in Saint Germaine de Prés for $93/night and that is in the very nice 6th arr. with a 4.8/5.0 rating and rave reviews. 135 euros is nearly $150, so I’m not thinking the price is outstanding for an “ok but not great” location."
Location (Saint Germain vs Montmartre) is not the only factor in pricing of accommodations. You have to consider time of year (which makes a huge difference), size of the space, finishes and even things like relative convenience to metro lines, availability of air conditioning, whether there is an elevator in the building, etc. to really compare prices.

Posted by
6787 posts

I wouldn't say Passage Ramey is IN Montmartre, because it's much lower than the top of the hill, but it is very very close!

Posted by
3656 posts

In 1995, the City of Paris established the Montmartre historic district which is the area bordered by rue Caulaincourt on the east and north, rue Custine on the north, rue de Clignancourt on the east, and boulevard de Clichy and boulevard de Rochechouart to the south. If that definition is the one followed, then Passage Ramey is not in Montmartre, but over the years, I have found that Montmartre is one of those neighborhoods whose borders keep expanding as people add the word to hotel names and apartment listings.

Posted by
776 posts

The historic boundaries make more sense than the rough ones I listed. But as Montmartre is not the name of an actual quartiere in the 18th, I suppose there's room for a lot of fudging. It's when the term is applied to east of Barbes and north of Ordener, questions should arise. I also suspect that there was a lot of politicking going on , what to include, what not to include.

Posted by
3067 posts

Be sure to confirm that any apartment you rent in Paris now has a 13 digit registration code to make it legal.
This is as a result of all the crackdowns on vacation rentals in many cities around the world now.
You don't want to get there and find no apartment, or be asked to leave during your stay because of complaints from neighbours about illegal rentals.
Lots of info on this site about this if you search.