Cheap and safe residence/apartment in Paris?

Question

Hi!

I will be going to Paris for an internship from January to April 2009. Would anyone know where I could find a cheap but safe residence or apartment?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I don't know how cheap you mean, but try pap.fr for rental ads. Also fusac.fr and lodgis.com (although they have an agency fee, which is a pain).

It is not easy to get an apartment in Paris if you do not have French proof of income and tax return slips, etc. You will have to get a guarantor in France and show your guarantor's documents to apartment owners. Or you could go through an apartment rental agency (called 'immobilier' in France) and pay the entire rental fee up front and not have to worry about all these papers. Some agencies can be found in the Paris AngloINfo website.

Additionally, there are many apartments, buildings and restaurants in the 14th arrondisement that are just for students. Basically, if you are a student, you get to live in one of the student dorms around the area. They usually run out quickly so if it's an option for you, I suggest you do it now.

Also, if you want to spend nothing at all, you can check this out: www.leparisolidaire.fr

Le Paris Solidaire will find you an old lady to take care of and you get to stay in her flat for free, as long as you have dinner with her every night.

Answer 2

Well, I don't know what do you mean by "cheap"…

At last, I can give a little advice to those who want to make real savings, while staying in places often cute and more authentic than the hotel:

rent a furnished studio (apartment…) for a week (weekend, months…).

It's often cheaper, but where you make real savings is on meals!

More and more hotels are charging the breakfast separately (+25 to 30€ for 2 people, in "not too expensive hotels"…).

But if you add the price of 2 meals per person per day, even you eat a sandwich or a salad at lunch and go to a small restaurant in the evening, is at least 50 to 80 more €uros!

In short, having a small "home" and to be able to make a breakfast and a meal oneself is often cool and much less expensive.

To find the kind of accommodation you seek, make Yahoo or Google search in French (more results).

You can try "Location gîte Paris", or "Location Studio Paris", and look on the maps: it's easier to see if the accommodation is central (best location!). If you know the area where you want to stay, you can add the district on your search (the nicer are 1st to 6) or the name of the area (St Germain, St Michel, Odéon, Quartier Latin…).

that thus made:

"Location gîte Paris 6ème" or "Location gîte Paris Odéon" etc.

You can also visit a nice website:

http://www.locationgite-paris.com

It's a very nice studio for 2, (small "nest lovers" type), in the 6th (Latin Quarter) and quiet, and not too expensive.

On the website, there are also a lot of tools to prepare your trip: lot of pictures, ideas for walks in the neighborhood and many links to monuments, museums, train stations, airports and so on.

Useful ;-)

Voilà! And sorry for my english: I'm French and I lack practice…