We had a great time on our recent trip, and Debora’s place was great.
The apartment’s street in the Château Rouge area at the foot of the eastern slopes of Montmartre is full of the sights and sounds of this diverse and largely African/Caribbean neighborhood. When you open the gorgeous living room windows and step out onto the adorable (standing room only) balcony, you’ll experience traditional Paris buildings and gorgeous Paris light mixed with the lively street sounds of the bustling culture below. Mornings are incredibly quiet and despite Paris being quite warm while we were there (Debora provided us with a fan!), the crisp and delicious mornings were storybook quality. The evenings were quite lively (it’s definitely not a quiet street in the evenings), but we were amazed how closing the windows closed the noise out when we were ready. Remember that the ground floor is #0 here, so for Americans (like us) who typically consider the ground floor as #1, this fifth-floor walk-up (clearly advertised) actually means five flights of stairs. The stairs are quaint, circular, interesting and tiring, and we were glad we did not have much luggage.
As Debora (and everyone) says, the place is steps away from the metro and from “guide-book” Montmartre with shops and wine bars and cafés with outdoor seating. It’s also very close to the gorgeous Sacré-Cœur and sweeping city views. Because of areas of the city we love (such as Montmartre and Canal Saint-Martin), we did far more walking and far less metro riding on this long weekend trip and loved it all. (It's also easily walkable from Gare du Nord.) We even walked out to the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen – a place I’ve been waiting years to visit. We did hop on the metro and explore other parts of the city (including a different and new favorite flea market - Puces de Vanves), but as Debora reminded us, Paris is small and much of it is walkable, and we found the 18th arrondissement to be a great home base for us.
Debora is very responsive, was there to meet us (adjusting to our ever-changing arrival time due to a train delay) and was very helpful. Her place is comfortable, and we loved staying there. Thanks so much, Debora!