Question for apartment renters

On Google Maps, you will get quite a few chain store results if you search for "supermarket near Paris." Corner convenience stores are also widespread and would probably have all the basics that you need in small sizes.

There are places all over Paris to buy food the same as every other major city. Buying staples for the kitchen is a great travel experience that you don't get to appreciate staying in hotels. What seems like a simple task always ends up as an adventure.

My favorite part of the day is the morning bread run. Every apartment we have rented (maybe 10 or so in Paris) has been near at least a couple of bakeries and sometimes 4 or 5. While my husband makes coffee, I go out and buy the morning baguette and usually a fancy pastry to have as dessert after dinner. And sometimes we buy mini pain chocolates or other fancy breakfast pastries -- there are so many different ones, many involving chocolate. Baguette is still our favorite with that great demi sel butter.

If you arrive on a Sunday, you may have trouble acquiring the breakfast staples like OJ, Milk, coffee etc. I occasionally will pack a little bit of coffee so we have it to start and I always carry a few T bags. But the small greengrocers that are often open even on days when markets and grocery stores are closed usually have things like butter, oj and milk. And there will ALWAYS be a bakery open; they take turns closing in an area. You may have to spot someone with a loaf and bread and ask them where they got it on Sunday morning when many bakeries are closed.

There are lots of small groceries and a fair number of larger super markets like standard US grocery stores. The 5th near the river is not the best part of town for finding grocery stores but your apartment will probably have a book with local amenities noted and if not that is the fun of exploration.

You can enter the address of the map into Google Maps and then click on Directions and enter Monoprix, Monop or Franprix and the closest ones will auto-populate. They will list in order of closeness to the address that you entered.

Wouldn't it make more sense to ask the apartment owner/agency about nearby grocery stores? I have a feeling that they will know which stores are nearby better than those of us who do not even know the exact location of the apartment.

Monoprix on Boul Mich across from Cluny Museum. Will at least get you started.

I thought to ask here because people are (usually) extremely helpful, and I learn about a lot of things and places that people who have been before me find comfortable and convenient. Our landlord, unfortunately won't be around for us as we get there in the morning, so I thank all who provided recommendations for us to find our breakfasts in our nice little apartment, as we fall off the plane at what will be 2:00 am body time. I want to be sure we have the info we need in hand and don't need to try to figure out anything as we stumble around on our first morning. That never seems to work too well for me on that first morning... so thanks to all the helpful folks out there we appreciate it.

Randi, the other big bonus for me in renting an apt is having a washing machine.

You already got the answer, but I'll join in and say you won't have any trouble getting groceries in the 5th. Enjoy wonderful Paris!

I wasn't suggesting that you wait until you arrive to ask the owner for suggestions. Can't you just e-mail and ask them now?

Apologies if I sounded harsh [in the post now deleted] - I just find it very strange when people rely on forums like this instead of using GoogleMaps. I always use this when looking for places to stay - you can have a good look around the neighborhood before you decide if you'll be comfortable there. Hopefully, there will be a manual in the apartment which describes how the appliances work, and the name of an emergency contact. Many rentals overlook this, or the manual will only be in French or Polish.

Here's a helpful link to outdoor food markets, if you'd like to visit one near you. It's best to go about 90 minutes after the official opening time (vendors will be ready to sell then), and about one hour before the market closes, since they will be packing up. Plug in the address or the name of the market using GoogleMaps, and they are easy to find:
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/paris-markets/

I have no idea where you'll be near the river in the 5th but that's pretty much the description of where I stay so.....here are the grocery stores that I use regularly:

~ Diagonal - On Rue de la Harpe, next door to McDonalds - this is a small, very busy grocery store in the heart of tourist central but they have a large selection in a small space and the best thing is that they're open until Midnight every day, even on May 1st which was very convenient. They even have baguettes from Poilane Bakery. Because this shop is so close to my favorite bus stop, I find myself going here more often than not and usually find exactly what I need.

~ Marché Franprix - On Rue Lagrange, between Rue Galande and Rue Frédéric Sauton - This is a smaller Franprix but they have a good selection, produce and they're open on Sunday from 9 to 1. They also have Poilane bread (it does sell out).
There's also a Carrefour Express a couple of doors away but it's not a favorite of mine.

~ Franprix - On Rue Domat, not far from the smaller store, just off of Bd. Saint Germain - Decent selection, baked goods, produce, ready to eat foods, etc. closed on Sunday though.

~ Monoprix - On Bd. Saint Michel, a block south of Bd. Saint Germain - Busy and big with a great selection. The main floor is personal care, some clothing, cosmetics and ready to eat/take away foods and the upper level is apparel but the lower level is a deceivingly large grocery store. Closed on Sunday and holidays (usually).

Bring a tote bag with you or buy one at Franprix or Monoprix, they always have plastic bags at Diagonal though. I love the big blue totes currently at Monoprix, you can haul a lot in them.

I absolutely adore grocery shopping in Europe. I could literally spend hours in a grocery. I prefer Franprix - they are a little less expensive; but really all of the above mentioned stores will have what you need. I would suggest bringing a language book or using a translator on your phone as some items are not as easily recognizable as others, although 98% of the fun is buying something and you really don't know what it is :)

I often stay for months at a time, and so I concur with the idea of using Google maps to figure out which places are near you and how to get there (which includes not only grocery stores but pharmacies and banks). In addition, when you find the location on Google maps and click it, you have the option to going to the store's website. From there, you can view the weekly circular (yes they have circulars like us) to get an idea of what they carry, hours of operation, costs, specialty items, seasonal items, and the like. I love doing that!

P.S. - what is this VRBO "crackdown" you mention? Is it like the AirBnB crackdown last year in Paris, when authorities were shutting down illegally rented properties? AirBnB's answer to that is now allowing the owner the option to charge an "occupancy tax" of sorts. But I'm not sure if that actually solves the entire scope of the issue ...

It's all the same crackdown. All vacation rental agencies or individuals who list on the internet are being investigated. The research process has been on-going for 3 years, and agents have been visiting apartments since late 2014 to verify that they are being used as illegal short-term rentals. The owners are contacted and must cooperate with the City or face fines if they continue to rent illegally. Nothing happens to the visitors who are staying in the apartments. There are currently only 107 legal apartments in Paris that meet the City's criteria.

AirBnB has agreed to inform its clients that they are responsible for collecting the "tax de sejour"and reporting it to the City.
This was an agreement made between the City and AirBnB, so the company could avoid having to pay a fortune in unpaid back taxes.

Thank you to all. Armed with addresses and maps, and happily plotting our course as we head to the airport... I appreciate the head start from all and am completely envious, Monique, of anyone who can spend months at a time in Paris...

Hahaha Randi, don't be envious - you should see my poor little bank account when I get home! Plus "months" sounds more fancy than it is. I can never stay more than the 90 day limit.

While it is true that all apartment rentals could be investigated by the city, it is not the case that all vacation rental agencies or individuals who list on the internet are being investigated. Not even close.

Randi, your first day could be a problem since, as you say, you'll be jet-lagged. So bring some crackers or other snack type food as your back up if you can't or don't want to go out to find food stores on arrival day.
You've gotten plenty of good advice about asking ahead, using google, etc. My approach is to just start walking around the neighborhood, even on arrival day. Going outside and walking is what many people (including RS) recommend as a way to deal with jet lag. I'm talking about wandering, not speed walking.
My experience has been that you'll always discover a patisserie or boulangerie nearby where you can buy a baguette and/or pastry the next morning and you will also come across little grocery stores as well as bigger ones. General rule of thumb is smaller streets = smaller stores, bigger streets = bigger stores.

"dave" - you are wrong, and you don't live in Paris so are perhaps getting your news second-hand.

The investigation was designed to track each and every rental listed on the internet. Priority status is given to individuals or agencies which list multiple properties, whether or not they are in the same building.

Great tips here & yes it is definitely easy to buy what you need. Monoprix, Franprix are both great little stores for your grocery needs. You could just ask your landlord about this or do the Google maps idea. I miss those two stores so much! Lots of wonderful products to try.

Don't overlook the other supermarkets, which might be closer to where you're staying, are often a lot less expensive and have interesting items. Many "store brands" are made by the same companies and sold in all these supermarkets:
Carrefour, Carrefour City, Carrefour Market
Casino
Lidl
Auchan
Leader Price
Leclerc
Intermarche
U
Simply Market

chexbres-- cite your sources please. This is the second time you've pulled the "You don't live in Paris" card, so cite whatever sources you have so that the poor "ploucs" outside Paris can see what you are talking about. After all Le Monde is on line, TV5 Monde broadcasts les infos de 20h or we can watch on line daily, we get Envoyé Spécial, so what sources do you have that these poor uninformed people don't have? Citations please.

You are talking about how an understaffed, underfunded, slow program was designed, while Dave is discussing program attainment. What source do you have showing the program has attained its objective of investigating and regulating all rentals that are posted on line? You say it has a list of 107, but it took two years to assemble that. Furthermore, if someone wants to rent out their own apartment for a few weeks while away, it's perfectly legal without being on any list.

So even though you and Dave are talking about two different things, please tell us where you get your information, the date, article title, and so forth, so we can be as well informed.

"Bets" - if you'd like some citations, I invite you to do research on the TripAdvisor ParisForum, where you are well aware that this subject has been discussed for several years. There are numerous links to articles - not just snippets from French or foreign media, but the pertinent portions of virtually thousands of pages of government-issue documents made available to those of us who are working on a daily basis with neighborhood organizations and the Mayor's task force. What you have asked me to provide is unreasonable, and totally unnecessary for a travel forum such as this one.

There are a few of us who have been living in Paris for a long time, are quite active in the community, participate in some travel forums, and have information to which others simply do not have access. I never referred to anyone as "ploucs" - which is a highly insulting term - and I think you're the one casting aspersions on the people who read this forum. I suggest you and "Dave" plant your bait elsewhere, where you'll get the reaction you're seeking.

"Bets" - if the person who owns the apartment and lives in it for a minimum of 8 months out of the year, (s)he is allowed to rent for a period not to exceed the remaining 4 months - but only if this is permitted by the copropriété.

If someone holds a 9 month or 12 month lease, subletting for any period of time is not permitted.

Most people do not operate by word of mouth, or they wouldn't make much money, so list their apartments on the internet.

Chexbres-- why would you be working on a daily basis with neighborhood organizations and the Mayor's taskforce? What sort of dog do you have in this anti-apartment rental fight? You consistently try to stir fear over apartment rentals. If you are actively working in this field, you should be open about it.

Dave and I have no stand for or against apartments, staying sometimes in hotels, sometimes in rentals, sometimes in apart'hotels. I really don't care. I do care about objectivity and not instilling fear in travelers. They already read enough about scams and pitfalls.

When you lord that you have inside information over Dave because you live in Paris, you're not only shutting him down, but you are also dismissing us as uninformed hayseeds.

I agree completely with everything Bets has said. And said very well.

chexbres obviously has a horse in this race against apt rentals as every post I've read, other than grocery stores above, is fear mongering.

If you cannot cite sources, you should not post as an authority on the subject. Referring back to TripAdvisor is lame and discredits everything you say.

Agreed with Bets. This is getting bizarre and makes it appear you have a stake in one side of the issue.

It's also pretty funny to refer someone to TripAdvisor discussions as a reliable (or unbiased!) source.

My only thought is that any bureaucracy (including that of the Paris Town Hall) only has so many resources, which never seem to be enough, and the problem is so immense that the few city employees working on the issue (when they're not absent) can only track and collate so much information over any given period of time -- much less conduct a full investigation. That's a pretty universal issue -- public sector employees having more work than they can possibly manage to handle, including having more mandates put on them that are realistic -- but since I don't hang out with these folks, I'm uniformed as well. Merely extrapolating from what I know about local government in general.

Agreed with Bets. This is getting bizarre and makes it appear you have a stake in one side of the issue.

It's also pretty funny to refer someone to TripAdvisor discussions as a reliable (or unbiased!) source.

My only thought is that any bureaucracy (including that of the Paris Town Hall) only has so many resources, which never seem to be enough, and the problem is so immense that the few city employees working on the issue (when they're not absent) can only track and collate so much information over any given period of time -- much less conduct a full investigation. That's a pretty universal issue -- public sector employees having more work than they can possibly manage to handle, including having more mandates put on them that are realistic -- but since I don't hang out with these folks, I'm uniformed as well. Merely extrapolating from what I know about local government in general.

What I find amusing is that the same people keep showing up to hijack threads by clouding the issues with personal attacks made upon people who are property owners in Paris and provide information not covered by général média. You are the fear-mongerers, not I.

That's clear as mud, which is what politicians do when pressed on a question--lash out at an imaginary enemy.

As I said, I have no vested interest. In fact, I would never choose to stay in an Air B&B or VRBO, preferring a reliable agency. So please do tell us where all this is coming from.

chexbrex lost me when he/she advised in another post not to take a Seine cruise in the summer because the trees blocked the view! Hands up anyone who has noticed this. I know I haven't. On the cruise boats we are looking up above the street level and therefore above the trees.

Yes chexbres, do tell. We're waiting.

Norma, LololololoL Too funny.

I've come to the conclusion "chexbres" is a troll.

I'm glad to see that everyone is jumping to conclusions, not reading my posts thoroughly, and having a good time.

I stand by what I said, pointed out where references could be found, and see no need to pander to the herd mentality which seizes on every negative issue about apartment rentals in Paris. Sentient human beings would wonder why this is so, but this seems to be a "mission-driven" attitude of certain people who haunt travel forums.

Trolling for trolls strikes me as very funny - some of you have no interest in doing anything other than catching a ride on this witch-hunt.

Hi Randi, not sure if someone already said this, but what I love to do in Paris, and all French towns I guess, is venture out the first morning, find the best croissants and hot chocolate, then ask the locals where are grocery store is. Pick up extra breads from the patisserie, jam, butter and yogurt from the grocery store, and have it stocked for morning nibbles. But there is nothing like keeping a little packable bag tucked away in your purse for the time you stumble across one of hundreds of fresh baked goods and a hidden grocery. Have a ball!!

Hard to believe Randi is still reading this, but....
rikis1, excellent point about tucking away a little grocery bag (or two). As I recall, you are expected to have your own grocery bag everywhere in France. But if you don't have one, most stores sell them at the checkout.

I've been reading with interest! We're actually here, managed to survive the jet lag, which seems to be a little more challenging each year, and found our bread, water, wine, eggs, yogurt, fish, cleanining supplies, and a bio market yesterday for fruit. And, thanks to all of you incredibly helpful folks on this site, we knew to bring our own bags, which is a wonderful tip. I appreciate you all.

Randi, Hope you have a wonderful time in Paris!

I just saw an ad on television for Airbnb. The ad featured several shots of Paris so apparently AirBnB isn't as concerned about the Mayor as some would have us believe.

I'm not sure I understand your post Richard. Airbnb, in and of itself is not illegal in Paris (or anywhere in France that I'm aware of) and many of the Paris rentals on Airbnb are perfectly legal. There's no real reason not to picture Paris in their ads.

AirBnB isn't concerned about any city's rules and regulations - until they are forced to make a deal to avoid paying a fortune in back taxes (usually in the form of room tax per person per night).

The company is free to use any images which aren't under copyright to advertise its business and message.

AirBnB provides a list of properties, and capitulated to the Mayor's demand to "advise" the owners to pay the room tax. The company itself is not responsible for seeing to it that its clients comply with paying the tax.
What they do is list property for rent - just like the Yellow Pages.
If you hired a plumber from the Yellow Pages, and he destroyed your bathroom, you couldn't sue the Yellow Pages..

It's not just Paris - AirBnB uses a great marketing tactic in all cities - "the sharing economy" - which includes the added fun of thumbing one's nose at local authorities. There's the added "frisson" of thinking that you're getting away with something and you're cooler than anyone else is.
But when the owner - or more often, the tenant who is subletting illegally - is discovered, they are the ones who are in trouble.

liontrask - you come back 3 months later to state the obvious?

Liontrask is on a roll today.