Where to stay in Paris

I just use VRBO.com or Booking,com, plug in my requirements (WiFi, 1 bedroom or more, washing machine, neighborhood), then read the reviews and details. The reviews can tell you a lot: are buses close? How about shopping? Noise? Was the WIFI strong? Use Google Street View to see the place from the outside, although don't let a seemingly seedy look discourage you. European cities are old and buildings sometimes don't look like much from the outside. Your budget is, according to my humble purse, more than enough. You should be able to get by for $1000 or so. We have a place in March in Paris for 7 nights for €650!

I've personally used cobblestoneparis.com for a Paris Apt last year. Very nice apartments which are nicely appointed.

I am currently looking for a Paris apt again, for 2 BR, BA for only 3 nights and I'm having a hard time finding the right one, but here is a list of most of the sites that I use:

Parisperfect.com has very nice places (not necessarily cheap)
homeaway.com
flipkey.com
vacationinparis.com (based in NJ, so you can actually call and speak to someone if you have questions)
onefinestay.com
ahparis.com
parisattitude.com
friendlyrentals.com
paristay.com

I do check VRBO and Airbnb but I usually don't like their inconsistency in terms. Sometimes it's an agency and sometimes the owner.

Since you are flexible in the BR/studio, you may find something with one of these sites.

Thank you for the replies.

@ Laurel - I didn't even think about using Google Maps to see the location. I'm not too concerned with how it looks on the outside because we all know some buildings look rundown but are gems on the inside. I've been looking through VRBO but there are just so many, but I'll keep browsing :)

@ Cindy - Thank you for the additional apartment links. I'll definitely take a look into them!

Thanks!

While you continue to seek an apartment, time is of the essence, so it might be a good idea to book a hotel room just in case. You can probably find one on booking.com with a generous cancellation policy. With your budget $300 per night I think you could find a pretty nice hotel room. I know I could.

We've used vacationinparis.com twice, and had good experiences both times. We've found that the pictures on their website are very accurate.

Just a small reminder not to get depressed if you can't find anything for the price for which Laurel has booked something: Christmas is high season in Paris and lots more expensive than March.

We used Paris Apartments by Numbers in March for a five-night stay for a family of four and could not have been happier from start to finish.
I was not able to find a good deal of reviews on this company prior to going and communicated some of my reservations via email to this company. I received a phone call from the owner. WOW. He patiently and thoroughly addressed and answered every concern.
Everything was exactly as described and went perfectly save for an issue with the washer in the apartment which was handled beautifully by the owner and I could not be happier with our treatment by this company. They made things "right" in ways that were above and beyond what we expected. We were surprised and thrilled by the over the top treatment we received.
We are headed to Paris in November and I did not look around. I emailed Paris Apartment by Numbers immediately. Thank you Orla! Good luck in your search. Paris is addictive!

Thank you all for your replies.

I've found an apartment through flipkey in the 1st Arrondissement that seems to fit the bill. Only thing that is bothersome is that there aren't any reviews, although I've found many on flipkey that do not. I'm going to use Norma's advice and look at hotels as a just in case measure.

Thanks!

Hi Amanda - I just left Paris and very much enjoyed staying in the Marais. It was great for a solo night owl like myself. When I was looking for apartments, I found the following sites helpful in my extremely exhaustive, budget conscious search:

vrbo.com
homeaway.com
likelivingthere.com
parisbestlodge.com

Good luck!