The apartment was within walking distance of Gard du Nord - a traditional old French apartment on the 4th floor (steep stairs!). Clean and comfortable. The neighbourhood is in le Goutte d'Or with bars, boulangerie, restaurant, shops all close by - an interesting neighbourhood and easy to get to central Paris. You can hear the trains get going in the morning, but it was okay with the window closed (in hot weather would be noisier with window open). Lola was working while we were there and so we didn't meet, but arrangements worked perfectly and she was very helpful via mobile.