Carole's place is in a gentrifying area with numerous restaurants reasonably close by. Also very close to one metro line and a bus line, and about 10 minutes walk from another metro line, so although it's not in the very center of Paris, it was reasonably quick to get most anywhere. Don't be put off by the unassuming look of the front entrance, it's on a main street of storefronts, but you pass through a series of locked doors and funky courtyards so the apartment itself is far removed from street noise.