The apartment was easy to find, around a 20 min walk from Gard Du Nord, which is perfect as cabs were being quoted at 50 euro for even such a short journey. Coming from London, I’m used to more of a cultural feel, and the area didn’t disappoint. Lots of local interesting restaurants and bars, and a short and easy walk to the buzzy Republique. The apartment is clean, and typically French feeling, with all the amenities you need. Stella’s husband Jean-Marc was charming, and willing to meet at my preference either side of the stay to exchange keys, and show me around. If you’re a fan of the feel of East Berlin, you’ll love the apartment and the area, and it’s a real contrast to the sanitised and normalised areas of Paris. I found a great bistro 1 minute walk from the apartment that I ate in multiple times, so friendly and accommodating of my lack of French language. A real gem to have on the doorstep. It sounds silly, but a real upside was having towels provided. For a city break you don’t want to fill a small suitcase with them, so this was a nice surprise for me as I was expecting to buy towels when I arrived. For all the above points I’d definitely stay again! Bravo!