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Rue de Poitou neighborhood in Marais?

DHC

10+ Posts
We booked a fancy shmancy air conditioned (if necessary) apartment for September facing rue St. Antoine across from the St. Paul Metro because that was what was available at a late date. (We wanted to be in the 5th, 6th, or 7th, but there was no availability) The agency just alerted me that they have a smaller place with plusses and minuses (plusses: quieter street and 1000E less; minuses: 4th floor walkup, no AC if there's another horrible heat wave) and farther from some friends across the river.) I know rue St. Antoine is a tourist-mobbed location but I figured we could easily walk to quieter areas in the Marais. Does anyone know what the rue de Poitou area of the Marais is like in terms of cafés, boulangerie, grocery stores, general feeling? Merci.
 
Rue de Poitou that is only a block from rue de Bretagne? I would think that rue de Poitou will be quiet but rue de Bretagne would be bustling with activities that cater both to residents and tourists. Rue de Bretagne is a great shopping street with lots of food shops and cafés. There is a Franprix towards the park but I love to shop at the smaller shops - cheese, butcher, boulangerie, etc. etc. Besides, Les Enfants Rouge is on the street as well, for shopping and eating. Some great places on and around rue de Bretagne!

The area would not be a problem for me but the fourth floor walkup would be.
 
I would choose rue de Poitou over rue St Antoine any day.
The lovely location is also much , much superior to the 6th or the 7th.
September - early or late ? The month is not known for heatwave. But don't come after me if there is one. Weather happens.
As for a 4th floor walkup, I live in one.
One xmas I lent it to a friend. Herhusband later reported that after a week, they had butts of steel !
Last question: the agency said it's a smaller apartment. What is the superficie ?
 
I would choose rue de Poitou over rue St Antoine any day.
The lovely location is also much , much superior to the 6th or the 7th.
September - early or late ? The month is not known for heatwave. But don't come after me if there is one. Weather happens.
As for a 4th floor walkup, I live in one.
One xmas I lent it to a friend. Herhusband later reported that after a week, they had butts of steel !
Last question: the agency said it's a smaller apartment. What is the superficie ?

I won't come after you, Parigi, though you might want to change your photo in case I change my mind! We're "un peu âgées," which accounts for our hesitation plus our daughter's Paris visit in the middle of the heat wave a few weeks ago. Also higher floors are hotter than lower ones and our stay runs from Sept. 2-29. A now-resolved health issue is the reason we were late to the Paris renting game this year and contributes a bit of hesitancy about too many stairs.

superficie= Poitou = 33m; St. Antoine = 44m

Merci.
 
I think its a tough choice and I’m really not sure which we would take. The smaller place is certainly more attractive for an almost month’s stay - quieter, more charming location, etc. However, a 4th floor walkup would definitely give us pause, as we’re in our 60s and, although we’re both reasonably fit tennis players, I’d guess we’d be tired after walking Paris and/or would not want to drag groceries up and down. We were in/out a lot and this would’ve gotten to be a bit much for us. We would also prefer the larger place as its... well, larger. But, as Parigi said, no guarantees but a/c shouldnt be an issue — it certainly wasnt for us in May.
On the other hand, if the rue St Antoine location looks out on the street directly across from the St Paul Metro station, its gonna be noisy. Also, we noticed that the plaza there was used by teens for hanging out both after school and in the evenings. I only say that might be an issue because of the additional noise. Its a wide street so probably not so much.
Both places have a good Metro stop close by and the smaller place is in a better location to get to the bar/restaurant filled 11th, the market (as JustTravel said) & other Marais locations, while the Rue Antoine place is more convenient to the Seine and lots of major sites (Louvre, Notre Dame...).
Best wishes for a great time. Hope this was helpful.
 
Regarding a rare September heat wave: with the money you're saving you can buy an oscillating fan! Seriously. We have been in France for several of the canicule occurrences and if the house or apartment doesn't have a fan we buy one and leave it in the gite/rental. I don't need AC, but moving air, yes! We just returned from France and arrived at the tail end of this summer's heat wave ... and ended up buying a fan. (Sometimes the white noise effect of the fan is good, too).

You say "fourth floor walk up" - make sure you know if you're ON the 4th floor (which is 5 flights of stairs because the ground floor is counted as "0") or on the 3rd floor and they've told you "4th floor walkup" because that's how it's counted in the US ... assuming you're from the US.
 
Thank you all for your detailed responses--most helpful. I'm still waiting on further information from the agency, including the possibility of yet another apartment. Note: the 4th floor is actually the French 3rd.
 
French 3rd !? You can do it. It's kinda tough the 1st day with the luggage, but usually the manager/landlord will help you.
Once we rented a "4th floor" walkup smack in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. When we arrived we realized what the French call the 1st floor, it's not even a thing. It's an Entresuelo. Wait, that's not all. What the French would call the 2nd floor, it's still not a thing. It's the Principe. You finally, with your luggage, climb to the 3rd. The sign on the wall says "1". Discouraging, no ?
Yes, we actually lived on the (French) 6th floor.
We actually got used to it, but if we came home from the supermarket and realized we had forgotten one gracery item, we were not inclined to jump up and go back to get it.
There were unexpected incredible advantages:
We had a big terrace with a view of all the roofs of the old town, where we had all our meals, plus from whichp we could see the drug deals down on the backstreet off Escudellers. I swear I have seen the parents or grandparents of the dealers already dealing there in the 1970s.
Then there was the night when our dinner was serenaded by the Rolling Stones live from Montjuc. For one moment, the entire Gothic Quarter was singing "Miss you" chorus in unison : "Oo oo oo oo oo-oo oo_Oo oo oo oo oo-oo oo".
So it was a 6th(or 7th) floor walkup. It was wonderfully minimalistically decorated by the gallery owner landlord. It was not dirty but quite dusty in places. Not the ideal rental for most people, yet it was one of the rentals that gave us the most outstanding memories.
 
Wonderful story, Parigi. Not to mention that stair climbing on vacation mitigates culinary indulgences and is probably one of the reasons some travelers come back from France without an extra ounce on them. Plus rooftops. Sigh. Some of the most memorable travel experiences occur when plans don't work out. If I had the time I'd start a thread with travel experiences that went from disappointments/inconveniences to magic. One of mine involves bread, not five flights of stairs. Another time.

Speaking of magic, now that so many have been so helpful in weighing apartment choices in the Marais, guess what? Our agent notified me yesterday afternoon that an apartment (also a fourth floor) popped up in one of our preferred arr. on the other side of the river and did I want to switch? Bien sur! It starts the second week in September, not the first, so I may have questions on a new thread about galavanting around Strasbourg and Colmar the first week where we've never been.

Thank you all so much.
 
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