Claire and Franck have a great apartment in a wonderful location in Paris. The instructions to get there were clear and both Claire and Franck speak really good English (much better than my useless French!).

The apartment is located in the 11th arrondissement, about 3 minutes walk from Parmentier metro (Line 3). It's also about 10-15 minutes walk from Republique metro which has 5 lines, so you are in a perfect location to get to most places in Paris (including to the Bastille area, CDG or Orly airports). If you are used to inner city life, you will also find the area safe at night-time - there are plenty of people about and the metro is usually open until 1am or so. It's perfectly safe walking too - I mostly walked and took the Metro when I needed to.

The 11th is a great area but the apartment is actually located close to the border with the 3rd, which has some of the best food in Paris - great chocolatiers, markets, restaurants, cafes, boulangeries, patisseries, charcuteries etc. Canal St Martin is also close by, as is Rue Oberkampf where there are more cute little bars, restaurants etc.

It's not a touristy area so you can enjoy living like a Parisienne! (just make sure you follow their style guide or you will look like a tourist).

The bed is comfortable, the bathroom is decently sized, there is lots of hanging & storage space for clothes, suitcases etc, and the kitchenette area is great. It is a huge apartment for Paris - my other friends were all staying in tiny shoebox apartments for roughly the same price! I'd recommend it for a solo traveller (particularly a female traveller) or couple. Claire and Franck left some goodies in the fridge - a nice bottle of French wine; coffee; butter; homemade jams; cream cheese - and the pantry is well stocked with basics like fresh bread, tea, salt, honey etc.

Some other reviewers warned about noise on the weekends (the neighbourhood is fantastic and lively on Thurs, Fri and Sat nights) but I honestly did not have any problem sleeping - the windows do cancel out most of the noise. It is very quiet during the week. I can guarantee bars close by are great - UFO (across the street), Paloma's (up the road) etc.

Franck was really accommodating and met me for lunch in a local market on one of the days I was in Paris. He explained quite a lot about French history, politics and culture, which I really appreciated and found super interesting. He also recommended some great local eateries and bars, including one at the top of Belleville Park (about 15-20 minutes walk from the apartment). Belleville is fantastic and you have a beautiful view of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower - I wouldn't have discovered this without Franck's kind suggestion.

I felt incredibly welcomed and would definitely stay there again when I am next in Paris.