It was lovely to stay in a place that was also a home. The metro is very easy to travel on and Alexandre's place is within zone 2 so day tickets are the cheapest they can be. We stayed with another family friend of ours and her son which spread the cost a bit - there are still ample sleeping places and beds to do that as all the kids could be in a separate bedroom together. There is also a big double bed in one bedroom and a big sofa bed in the lounge which was easy to put up and down. Any people like us who are unfamiliar with shutters - there ARE shutters that work very well at blocking out morning sun - you just need to find the controls on the walls in each room! I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did - I don't think any of our kids will forget it as it was a fantastic first time in Paris for them.