Paris Apartment: Neighborhood

The Neighborhood of your Paris apartment


	Paris Apartment Rentals
		Find a Paris Apartment Rental
		Prices & Terms
		FAQ's
		Contact us
	Renting one of our Paris Vacation Rentals
		About Paris Perfect
		Paris Neighborhood
		Guest Comments from guests who have stayed in our Paris vacation rentals
		Honeymoon, Celebrations
		About our Paris Apartment Rentals
	Paris Tips & Information
		Free Paris Information Newsletter
		Paris Shopping Information
		Paris Flea Markets
		Paris Apartments for Sale: Tips and Information
	Site Map
	Home

Italiano

Things to see near your Paris apartment

This is the 7th arrondissement, on the famous Left Bank of Paris. It is the home of Madeleine's magical neighborhood where Ludwig Bemelman drew her house 'all covered with vines'.

In the illustration shown here, Madeleine's imaginary house seems to be next door. Our apartments are all on upper levels with sunny, beautiful views over the neighborhood. The Champ de Mars park where 'the twelve little girls in two straight lines' were often illustrated is only a block away and is flanked by the Eiffel Tower and Ecole Militaire. The Ecole Militaire is the military school which Napoloen attended as a young man, on the way to creating France's Empire.

Central Location:

The location, proximity to park, river, shopping and monuments make the 7th arrondissement one of the most desirable locations in Paris. Parisians as well as experienced visitors will tell you that the 7th is one of the safest and most beautiful quartiers in Paris, a true delight to explore and discover.

The apartments are a stone's throw from the Champ de Mars. This wonderful park surrounds the Eiffel Tower and has 3 different playgrounds, including an ancient hand-cranked merry-go-round, basketball court and puppet theatre. Guests (and their children appreciate the ability to sit, walk, picnic, run and play in the park alongside French families. The Mayor of Paris has opened the parks and quais along the river for cyclists on Sundays; rent bicycles or skates a block away to join in. Beat the crowds by going to the Eiffel Tower early; run up the stairs to the second level or buy a ticket for the elevator. The Jules Vernes restaurant on the second level serves haute cuisine to locals and visitors; reserve well in advance for a beautiful, romantic dinner.

The Seine River is 4 blocks away - where the Bateaux Mouche boat tours start as well as the famous 'Sewers of Paris' tour. Ave. Montaigne and Ave. George V, where many of the great fashion houses are located, begin at the Pont de l'Alma. They both lead to the Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe. It is an enjoyable walk to the Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Invalides, Blvd. St. Germain, Place de la Concorde, Musee d'Orsay, Grand Palais. The Pont de l'Alma is next to the infamous tunnel where Princess Diana met her tragic end.

Transportation:

Excellent transportation from two local metros: the Ecole Militaire Metro is 4 blocks away; the Pont de l'Alma metro is 5 blocks. RER line at Pont de l'Alma is direct to Versailles, 2 stops to the Musee' d'Orsay and 3 to Notre Dame. There are 3 major bus lines across the street.

A Gourmet's Delight:

This part of the 7th arrondissement is famous for restaurants and fantastic food stores. Guests love the fact that they are staying in the center of Paris and can experience life as the Parisians do. Bakery, fruit/vegetable shop, butcher, cheese shop, small supermarket are all on our block. Rue Cler is 3 blocks away and is famous for its food market; cheese shops, fishmongers, tarte shops, fresh fruits/vegetable shops, patisseries and bakeries. The busiest time is Sunday morning, when families line up at their favourite shops to buy the ingredients, select cheeses and desserts for their traditional Sunday lunch, even selecting their Camembert and St. Felicien to the correct ripeness. You'll hear customers telling the merchants to choose carefully: "C'est pour demain s'il vous plait... c'est pour ce soir." ('We'll eat this one tomorrow and that one tonight').

Travel writer Rick Steves has written an excellent article about rue Cler in his Travel News Back Issues.

A must on Wednesdays and Saturdays is to shop for your provisions at the largest open market in Paris, at the Alma Bridge, a few minutes walk away. Small merchants come from the countryside and sell their paté, local wines, cheeses, fresh flowers, fresh fish, fresh-baked breads, even 5 types of escargots. You'll find yourself wandering up to the Trocadero; stop and admire the view across the Seine towards the Eiffel Tower as you head home with your packages. There are more open markets in the 7th than anywhere else in Paris: explore Blvd. de Grenelle's open market on Wednesdays and Sundays, especially the antiques and 'brocante' section on Sunday mornings. Ave. de Saxe's open market specializes in organic products every Thursdays and Saturday morning.

A Shopper's Paradise:

The 7th arrondissement is filled with beautiful shops. For the fashion conscious there is a range of lovely stores, from couturier to new designers, to "knock-off" and consignment shops where elegant Parisian ladies discreetly edit and update their wardrobes. The location is unique, as you can walk to the grand couturiers of Ave. Montaigne and Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré as well as the new left bank designers off Boulevard St. Germain. Don't forget to check out the many little shops in the neighborhood that specialize in home accessories and lovely linens, great for finding unique gifts and home decor items.

From Paris to the Moon, by Adam Gopnik (Random House)

"Saint Dominique is lined with wonderful shops; butchers with fat-wrapped noisettes d'agneau and bakers with various-sized Tarte Tatin, all caramel-colored, and childrens clothing stores, their windows filled with violet coats for small girls... The rue Cler... is one of the nicest shopping and marche' streets in Paris, and it acts as a heart for the neighborhood, warming even the chilly great avenues of Tour Maubourg and Rapp. They are lined with chestnuts, and there is more art nouveau architecture there than perhaps anywhere else in Paris... Luke's school is a block up, on the rue Saint-Dominique; Grenelle is one of those sandwiched streets, between Saint-Dominique and the rue Cler, where there are two lingerie stores to a block (how can woman wear so much underwear?). Sometimes, we have an omelet and a grenadine in the café' down the street, where Luke likes to pull the lace curtains and the old lady who is always there has an old black cocker. Then, by now four o'clock, violet twilight falling, watching that sky that looks as though it were ready to snow though it never does, we get the bus back home. Going home, it goes down Saint-Dominique, gently, formally, perfectly curving across the Left Bank. I looked up the rue Jean Nicot and could see lights twinkling, like fireflies, right across the Seine, filling the trees. The hardest thing to convey is how lovely it all is and how that loveliness seems all you need...In that moment on a December at four o'clock when you're walking from the bus stop to the rue Saint Dominique and the lights are twinkling across the river... you feel as if you've escaped."

Destinations: Paris sabbatical -- a nine-month interlude

By Karen Perlroth, The Almanac News, July 31, 2002

A fascinating article from a couple who took a sabbatical in Paris in 2002 and stayed in one of our apartments. There is an excellent list of books to read, insights and ideas on the French, Paris and traveling in France.

Top of the page