My wife and I just returned from a wonderful week in Paris, attending a family wedding. Staying in Natalie's apartment made us feel very much apart of the Parisian culture. While Natalie was not in Paris for our arrival, she made arrangements for her friend, Catherine to be there to meet us. Catherine even directed us via phone to the apartment as we walked from the RER Port Royal train station. Natalie stayed in touch via email before, during and after our visit. She gave us directions from the airport to her apartment, access codes to her building before our arrival as well as phone numbers for both herself and her friend to contact with any questions we had.

Natalie thanks for vino and white cheese you left for us. My wife wants to know the exact name of the cheese we loved it so much!

We wanted a simple and affordable housing option to meet our daily needs of location and function. Her one bedroom apartment with a sofa bed in the main space allowed us to accommodate my sister and her daughter for two days until their party arrived and their apartment became available across the street. After that we had it all to ourselves. The well equipped kitchen allowed us to prepare breakfast each day and then hit the streets to meet family and do some exploring. The apartment has Wi-Fi so that helped in our communication with other members of our family party in Paris w/o experiencing international charges.

The neighborhood while not in the center of the Latin District is well connected by train, bus and bike share. We took the RER B from Charles De Gaulle to Port Royal station, if you get the express to Gare Du Nord it cuts time off the trip and you get to the apartment in less than an hour. It takes lots of stress out of the arrival and departure experience. We use several metro lines including the Blue and Pink to begin and end our journeys. We also UBERED to and from the wedding event, and they serve the area well.

Mostly we just walked, we are active people so we loved discovering the RUE short-cuts any time of day or evening to the gardens, monuments and cafes we wanted to visit. We felt very safe in the neighborhood. The Thursday and weekend market on Boulevard Port Royal was an event in itself. Plenty of affordable cafes, pastry shops, grocery for breakfast and snack foods and a Starbucks for us Americans.

If you are an active couple of any age or family with maybe two young kids, would recommend this well equipped apartment that is simple, clean and functional.