Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [238]
Homestays & B&Bs
Under an arrangement known as hôtes payants (literally ‘paying guests’) or hébergement chez l’habitant (lodging with the occupants of private homes), students, young people and tourists can stay with French families. In general you rent a room and, for an additional fee, have access to the family’s kitchen in the evening. Half and full board is also usually available. For a list of homestay venues see opposite. Some private language schools Click here can arrange homestays for their students.
Bed-and-breakfast (B&B) accommodation – known as chambres d’hôte in French – has never been anywhere near as popular in Paris as it has been in, say, London but that is changing. The city of Paris has inaugurated a scheme called Paris Quality Hosts (www.hqp.fr) to encourage Parisians to rent out their spare rooms. The idea is not just to offer visitors an alternative choice of accommodation but to ease the isolation of some Parisians, half of whom apparently live alone. Expect to pay anything from €65 a double. Most hosts will expect you to stay a minimum of three or four nights.
The following B&Bs are all members of the Paris Quality Hosts initiative. At least two have been recommended by readers.
Alcôve & Agapes (Alcoves & Feasts; 01 44 85 06 05; www.bed-and-breakfast-in-paris.com)
B&B Paris ( 01 47 34 01 50; www.2binparis.com)
Fleurs de Soleil (Sunflower; 06 62 37 97 85; www.fleursdesoleil.fr, in French)
Good Morning Paris ( 01 47 07 44 45; www.goodmorningparis.fr)
Longer-term Rentals
Small (15 to 30 sq metres) studios with attached toilet in central Paris start at about €20 per sq metre per month; expect to pay from about €800 for a one-bedroom flat and €600 for a studio. The per-metre cost theoretically decreases the larger the place, the further away it is from the city centre and if it is a walk-up (ie does not have access to a lift).
Under €500 a month will get you a tiny garret room with a washbasin but no landline telephone, proper cooking facilities or private toilet. There may not even be a communal shower. These rooms, often occupied by students, are usually converted chambres de bonne (maid’s quarters) on the 6th or 7th floors of old apartment buildings without lifts, but in decent neighbourhoods.
The hardest time to find an apartment – especially a cheap one – in Paris is in September and October, when everyone is back from their summer holidays and students are searching for digs for the academic year. Moderately priced places are easiest to find towards the end of university semesters – ie between Christmas and early February and July to September.
If you’ve exhausted your word-of-mouth sources (expats, students, compatriots living temporarily in Paris), it’s a good idea to check out the bulletin boards at the American Church. People who advertise there are more likely to rent to foreigners, will usually speak at least some English and might be willing to offer a relatively short-term contract. Fusac Click here, a free periodical issued every two weeks, is another good source.
If you know some French (or someone who does), you’ll be able to consult several periodicals available from newsagents: the weekly De Particulier à Particulier (www.pap.fr; €2.95) appears on Thursday, while the biweeklies À Vendre, à Louer (www.avendrealouer.fr, in French; €1.50) and Se Loger (www.seloger.com; €2.30) come out on Monday and Thursday respectively. You’ll have to do your calling in French, though. If you have access to a phone, you could place a want ad in De Particulier à Particulier and have people call you.
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FAMILY AFFAIR
Popular with students learning French are pensions de famille, which are similar to B&Bs but more intimate. In 1970 there were some 400 scattered around the city; today there are a mere nine family guesthouses. Four that come recommended by the Paris tourist office are the following: