Yohann's apartment in the 2nd is truly amazing, with access to all assortments of groceries, bars, patisseries and walking-distance to all sights and sounds of the area.
The finishing is new, including floors, counters, appliances, bedrooms and linens, but the building is old with a lot of character (complete with a century's worth of worn wooden stairs up a narrow curved staircase). The apartment is on the 1st floor ("second" floor, for North Americans) and is much larger than even the pictures advertise: plenty of space for our whole family.
The street is a small sideroad right off of Sébastopol and ridiculously close to the Metro station at Strasbourg-Saint-Denis. Yohann had a property manager, Mikhael, who was responsible for our check-in and checkout process, and he was beyond helpful in talking us through the local area, how to work the TV etc.. The unit came with one travel adapter, so bring more, or a power-bar for more expanded use. The unit came with two sets of keys: one with a HID fob to enter downstairs, but also a code is provided for after-hours access.
This week had an abundance of street noise at night, drunken yelling and interesting denizens -- as expected from any place right downtown, but the beds were large and comfortable, washer and dryer were efficient, towel warmers are a dream, and having two full bathrooms came in very handy. They happened to be doing construction early on (7am or so) downstairs this week so we did not need to set an alarm.
Thank you for your hospitality and I can't wait to come back!