Alexandre's apartment is perfectly located in a roaring area. We arrived at Gare de l'Est, which is only a few minutes walk away. The neighborhood is quite lively, there are lots of bars, restaurants and down the street you can find a tiny supermarket where you can buy everything you need at almost every time of day or night.
As soon as you're in the apartment you don't hear anything that's going on on the streets. Although the place is very small itself, we didn't miss anything. The existing space is used optimally and well appointed with tasteful furnishings. Everything was perfectly clean and Alexandre himself was a great host. He welcomed us warmly, recommended us wonderful places to go and even explained us where to find the next Vélib station to rent bicycles - which is the best way to discover the city. We'd love to come back whenever we visit Paris!