I had the pleasure of staying in Charles' Montmartre apartment for my first trip to Paris. Charles was very easy to work with - he was prompt in responding to any questions, and his directions (offered in French and English, and covering everything from how to work the thermostat to grocery shopping and medical care) took most of the guess-work out of planning my trip. The apartment is perfect, precisely as in the pictures. The bed and fold-out couch were comfy. The elevator is a life-saver if you don't feel like lugging your suitcase up four sets of spiral stairs.

The apartment is perfectly situated on Rue des Martyrs, a lovely (and very safe-feeling) street of artisanal shops - we had excellent dim sum, sushi, pastry, chocolate, and coffee all within steps of the apartment, and there is an amazing antiques street market on Saturday and Sunday. It's an easy 20-minute walk to the Louvre (I highly, highly recommend walking through the Passages Verdeau and Jouffroy and the Palais Royale to get from the apartment to the Louvre - our 20-minute walk turned into an all-day event because there was so much to see and eat and photograph!), the Pont des Arts, Sacre Coeur, and everything else is a short cab or metro ride away.

I will definitely be returning to Paris and hope to stay in Charles' apartment again!