Spring Semster Stay in Paris - 3rd vs. 5th vs. 14th - where to stay for a young student

All of these areas are pretty central and safe for a young male. I'd pick by the facilities available in the flat rather than location.

I would choose 5 th first , but with some
Caveats - St Michel boulevard is a Main Street so does room face street or inner courtyard( quieter) . Location is very central and he could likely walk to many places.

Then I’d choose the 3rd .

The 14 is also a great area , so really first response is best one , choose apartment based on price and amenities .

Remember many apartment building may not have elevators so if it’s on 4th or 6 th floor that’s a lot of steps when hauling groceries or luggage lol , however higher floors are better for avoiding lo noise . See if ads mention double glazed windows .

Actually if you can post links you’ll get better advise , as all three are in good central areas

Thank you :)

here are the links to the three choices so far:

5th:
http://www.lodgis.com/en/paris,long-term-rentals/apartment/LPA9002-boulevard-saint-michel-apartment-paris-5.mod.html

3rd
http://www.lodgis.com/en/paris,long-term-rentals/apartment/LPA15499-rue-montgolfier-apartment-paris-3.mod.html

14th
https://www.vrbo.com/1120766a

When I was your son's age, I could sleep through anything so I would pick your first listing in the 5th mainly because it is closest to his school and in the Latin Quarter which I think is very student friendly. He could probably walk to school from there, which would be great. These days, I need quiet at night so soundproof windows or an apartment in the back would be key and that would be the case for your son if he is a light sleeper so maybe you or he need to follow up with the landlords on the exact locations of the apartments vis a vis the streets. Second choice would be the one in the 14th, again for location and ease of getting to school and also for the soundproof windows. Location wise Rue Montgolfier is my last choice because metro line 3 is not super convenient for getting to the Latin Quarter and I do not love the area around the Strasbourg-Saint Denis metro station (only relevant really if he decides to walk to LIne 4 to get to the Latin Quarter). That being said, all 3 are fine and in decent areas.

Agree the one in the 5th. It's on the 6th floor (US), 5th floor in Europe, so noise will be attenuated, and it has a sleeping loft.
I had many good experiences with Lodgis, back when they were doing short-term rentals. My worst experience was with VRBO, though others like it.

My choice is in the order of your links. The 5th would be #1, the 3rd would be #2, etc. The 5th is the most fun area for a 19 yr old. All of Paris is safe at all hours if you use common sense. What a lucky guy to have this amazing opportunity!

Thank you for all the responses :) one more additional question: my son found another small studio that he really likes on Rue Bessano close to Champs-Elysees in the 16th that seems to be available and has a direct 20 min bus route to his school. Is that area not a bit boring for a young student?

How does he feel about a 20 minute ride in and a 20 minute ride out every day?

That is pretty short travel time for what we are used to here at home, and wouldn’t bother him much. How is the area though?

A lot of offices. That wouldn’t be my choice.

What Bets said. Boring, not a fun area for a 19 yr old. Go w the 5th.

Do you mean Rue de Bassano? I am on the Champs Elysees near Rue de Bassano on almost every trip to Paris and in the summer, I love to spend an afternoon at the Marriott's sidewalk bar on the Champs to watch the world (other than Parisians) go by and I would be hard pressed to think of a relatively central, safe area that would be less appealing for a 19-year-old. He had a great spot with the place in the 5th. If he wants to live in an area where no college-age people hang out and be near the Louis Vuitton flagship store and luxury hotels, he will have found his spot. At times like this Google street view is your friend.

Have you started working towards your visa application yet? It's a fun experience! There's a bunch of hoops you need to jump through, including providing a residence address, an official letter from the school saying he's been accepted to the program and a letter from your bank stating there are sufficient funds to provide a minimum income (I think it's 800 euros/month) for the duration of his stay.

Our grandson leaves mid-September for his first year of college in Paris. He has his visa, thank goodness. It took about six weeks to get everything together, apply and receive the visa.

He is a dual citizen (American/German) and is fortunate that he doesn't need a visa for school/work for any of the EU countries, so we didn't have to deal with that. For the apartment rentals we have a good dossier together. I actually didn't find it as complicated as many people were saying.