Oh dear, have I done the wrong thing? ??
I%26#39;ve booked an apartment in rue du Faubourg Poissonniere, near the corner of Bd de Bonne Nouvelle. I didn%26#39;t have alot of choice because I was booking late, and needed certain essentials (like no stairs) to suit my ageing parents.
This morning%26#39;s Sydney Morning Herals says:
the neighbourhood on Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, was...%26#39;right in the thick of an unpretentious mix of sweatshops, s*x shops and immigrants from Turkey, India and North Africa. This was not postcard-Paris. There were too many moustaches for that%26#39; (Sacha Molitorisz) .
Oops. Will Mother be mortified? Does it have a seedy tone around that area? I checked pagesjaunes before booking (of course) and couldn%26#39;t see anything of concern on our street but if any locals or tourists who%26#39;ve stayed there could give me a first hand account, I can at least prepare Mother before we arrive!
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Well...it won%26#39;t be as bad as you think.
In Paris, a block or two can result in a huge change in neighborhood/atmosphere.
The %26quot;seediness%26quot;, to my observation, is about .5 km east around Rue S-Denis and on east.
But, the area has surely improved in recent years. Over many trips, we avoided going to Julien (for it%26#39;s astonishing Art Nouveau interior) due to it%26#39;s location at Blvd/Rue St-Denis. But, we finally went last year and thought the area much improved.
We also went walking with Michael Osman. As we were wandering up a street, he asked if we knew where we were - on Rue St-Denis! I never would have guessed.
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I happen to stay a few blocks away and really like the area. Go south on r. Poissonniere and you%26#39;ll run into r. Montogrueil, a wonderful market street..
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What absolute rubbish !
I have stayed in this area twice - and yes, it is not cutesy-postcard-Paris, but it is as clean and safe as anywhere else in Paris. There are metrostations and busses close by. A normal residential neighbourhood with banks, shops, supermarkets, hotels, cafés, restaurants. Ordinary people going to work, schoolkids sending textmessages, the green men washing the pavement etc.
The area is heavily packed with wholesale shops with fabric/material and clothes - you can stick you nose in, but they won%26#39;t sell you anything.
All the way to the west run Les Grands Boulevards to the Opéra-district. You will find the fantastic %26quot;passages couverts%26quot;: Passage Jouffroy, Passage des Panoramas.
And you are right on the border of the charming 9th arrondissement - in fact one of the lovliest squares I have come across in Paris is right across your street %26quot;Cité de Trévise%26quot;.
If you take a walk about ½ kilometer to the west into the 9th arr. you will come to the quarter La Nouvelle Athène where Chopin used to live. You will find the museum for Gustav Moreau and the museum for George Sand and Chopin %26quot;Musée de la Vie Romantique%26quot;.
The squares: Square d%26#39;Orléans, Place St. Georges and Place Gustave Toudouze are beautiful and charming.
Let me give you some links to cool your nerves down:
http://www.insecula.com/salle/MS01986.html
www.parisinconnu.com/passages/index.htm
terresdecrivains.com/Le-quartier-de-la-Nouve…
www.insecula.com/salle/theme_40030_M0044.html
And yes, there are more immigrants from Africa, India and Turkey - but pssst...... I got a secret for you: they are so busy working and making ends meet that they couldn%26#39;t care less about you. Well, they may give you a look and wonder that you may be doing there - but I promise you they don%26#39;t bite ! An another great thing about living in a normal Parisian neighbourhood: no dollar-tourists !
As the other reply mentioned you are only 5-10 minutes walk from the 2nd arr. to the south with the foodmarketstreet Rue Montorgeuil and all the other pedestrian streets.
Tip: there is a tiny internetservice in Rue d%26#39;Hauteville (parallel to yours, the street with the big postoffice at the corner) which I used frequently. As many of these services it is run by an immigrant (!) and their rates for computertime/internetacess are very cheap.
I never noticed any s*exshops, the journalist must have looking for one. Maybe I didn%26#39;t notice because I didn%26#39;t at the moment feel in need of any of their goodies or services.......
Should I check it for you - just in case you might need one ???
=o)
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insecula.com/salle/photo_ME0000062522.html
This is the big postoffice I mentioned before - can%26#39;t miss it.
And to show mummy:
These two photos show %26quot;your end%26quot; of Les Grands Boulevards. They look OK, don%26#39;t they ?
insecula.com/salle/photo_ME0000044462.html
insecula.com/salle/photo_ME0000062653.html
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What a relief! The writer must have been using some journalistic licence!...and the area that was seedy is further over to the east.
I%26#39;m relieved - I was so surprised to be able to get that apartment at late notice that I keep waiting to see what will be wrong with it!
But those of the main boulevardes are lovely, Gittek. Looks like we%26#39;ll find plenty of places to eat nearby too. I%26#39;m glad you mentioned the squares and Chopin%26#39;s home over to the west. I wasn%26#39;t aware of those. My map shows the covered arcades so I know where to head to findthose but looks like a further wander around that area will be fruitful.
Thanks all!
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I am so curious - couldn%26#39;t you post the link to the apartment, so that we can see it ??
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Yeah sure.
Here %26#39;tis
specialapartments.com/fbg_poissoniere.html
Hmmm, just noticed the trees visible from the lounge window - perhaps this fronts the GrandsBoulevards rather than the little rue Faubourg Poissonniere.
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WAUWW !!! That is a great apartment - 90 m2%26#39;s is BIG in Paris and wonderfully spacious for the three of you !
I don%26#39;t think that the living room overlooks the street - I think it overlooks the courtyard:
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; This spacious apartment is 90 square meters (970 sq ft). Located on the 3rd French floor of a typical pre-Haussmann (19th century) building, with an elevator, all overlooking a large flowered courtyard.%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Also you will have a combined washer/dryer, to do some laundry if necessary. Will you be staying in this apartment also when your parents have gone home ?
Not cheap - but also not too expensive. Looks like good value for money, IMO.
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Now I%26#39;m worried again, GitteK! How could an appt this big and well featured have still been available at that price a couple of weeks ago when I booked!!??
Here%26#39;s hoping I just got lucky!
And no, I won%26#39;t be staying there tout seule once M%26amp;D depart. I%26#39;m off to the 14th to stay in this one:
http://www.vrbo.com/96984
.....where a few stairs and a bit more distance to the main sights wont worry me. I like the idea of changing arrondisements too - to get to know a couple of different areas. Last trip (2 yrs ago) I stayed near metro Rambuteau at the intersection of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondisements. So I%26#39;ll know three areas by the end of this trip!
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Your other apt. looks very nice too - and the area is totally different from Les Grands Boulevards. I am not all that familiar with the 14th - but I have been to the lovely pedestrian marketstreet Rue Daguerre (with some very good lunch restaurants and a good creperie in a courtyard). Rue Daguerre is only 2 minutes away from you apt.on the other side af Av. Gén.Leclerc. I have been to Rue Hallé once searching for Villa Hallé, which turned out to be (like many of its kind) - shut in behind closed fences. Privée only - grrrrr......
One thing you also MUST do is walk down to the Parc de Montsouris and the pittoresque Square de Montsouris. You will not believe that you are in fact still in a big city. Won%26#39;t tell you more - you will LOVE it.
Also take a trip into the 13th (on the other side of Parc de Montsouris) and visit %26quot;Cité Florale%26quot; (just off Place de Rungis) - another of Paris%26#39;s incredible, forgotten gems.
tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187147-c3232/Paris:F…
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