Picking apartments based on food/wine proximity

[jeffperez62]

I'm off to Paris for a week with my wife and we are torn b/w 2 apartments. One on the 4th near Place de Vosges and the other near Place de la Contrascarpe in the 5th. Which is a better location for proximity to food shopping/markets. Also, where are the better wine shops in Paris. I'm not necessarily looking for the older vintages, just a fairly priced shop with a wide selection.

Any help is greatly appreciated.....JP

[andrewB]

I'm off to Paris for a week with my wife and we are torn b/w 2 apartments. One on the 4th near Place de Vosges and the other near Place de la Contrascarpe in the 5th. Which is a better location for proximity to food shopping/markets. Also, where are the better wine shops in Paris. I'm not necessarily looking for the older vintages, just a fairly priced shop with a wide selection.

Any help is greatly appreciated.....JP

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place de vosges is a better bet in my opinion. i use an apartment on isle st louis which works for me!!

There is a chain of shops in paris called nicola which have a very good selection of some older vintages as well as some great new ones. seem to be resonably priced as well...

[John Talbott]

I'm off to Paris for a week with my wife and we are torn b/w 2 apartments. One on the 4th near Place de Vosges and the other near Place de la Contrascarpe in the 5th. Which is a better location for proximity to food shopping/markets. Also, where are the better wine shops in Paris. I'm not necessarily looking for the older vintages, just a fairly priced shop with a wide selection.

Any help is greatly appreciated.....JP

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For markets check this post that has a great list of all the markets.

Either area is safe (indeed no one worries about walking alone late at night anywhere central; it's outside the center and in the suburbs that there's a problem) and both are very near a big street market (Richard Lenoir/Bastille to the Place des Vosges; Place Monge to the Place de la Contrascarpe). I'd make the decision more on the furnishings in the apts and the feeling you're looking for outside - the Place des Vosges is charming and full of tourists; the Place de la Contrascarpe less touristy/more studenty.

[follonica2]

I'm off to Paris for a week with my wife and we are torn b/w 2 apartments. One on the 4th near Place de Vosges and the other near Place de la Contrascarpe in the 5th. Which is a better location for proximity to food shopping/markets. Also, where are the better wine shops in Paris. I'm not necessarily looking for the older vintages, just a fairly priced shop with a wide selection.

Any help is greatly appreciated.....JP

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For markets check this post that has a great list of all the markets.

Either area is safe (indeed no one worries about walking alone late at night anywhere central; it's outside the center and in the suburbs that there's a problem) and both are very near a big street market (Richard Lenoir/Bastille to the Place des Vosges; Place Monge to the Place de la Contrascarpe). I'd make the decision more on the furnishings in the apts and the feeling you're looking for outside - the Place des Vosges is charming and full of tourists; the Place de la Contrascarpe less touristy/more studenty.

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The market at Maubert-Mutualite is an option/alternative for the days when the Place Monge market isn't operating.

[Ptipois]

I'd make the decision more on the furnishings in the apts and the feeling you're looking for outside - the Place des Vosges is charming and full of tourists; the Place de la Contrascarpe less touristy/more studenty.

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I'd pick La Contrescarpe any day, but that's where I live. I love it because it's a livable, unsnobbish and not-too-hyped part of Paris. It's relaxed and cozy, yet youthful as well. Place des Vosges and Le Marais are extremely touristy, not very interesting food-market-wise, and there's much less of a neighborhood feeling. La Contrescarpe has outstanding markets nearby: place Monge on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and place Maubert on Saturdays and Tuesdays. The Jardin des Plantes is a great park, there's the museum of Evolution there and other nice old-fashioned science museums, and the lovely great Mosque of Paris, built in 1922.

However, I suggest that you compare the furnishing and floor plans anyway.

[bushey]

We've just gone through the same kind of back-and-forth decision making on where to spend five nights in Paris, with our family, at the end of February. Even though it's considered low season, many of the apartments we looked into were completely booked the week of President's Day vacation. It came down to a few apartments, including a few in the Oberkampf area that were pretty spacious and reasonable, a garret-like modern loft just off rue Dauphine in the 6th, and a large, elegant apartment in the 1st, between Place de la Concorde and Madeleine. We've decided on the latter, primarily because it's spacious enough for all of us (and there are enough bathrooms for the four females in the family, pity my poor husband), is close enough to many of the major sights, increasing the "wow!" factor for the kids, and is also close enough to Laduree and the Marche St Honore and Bourse market -- not to mention some chi-chi carryout places at Place Madeleine.

Most apartments that are rented out on a regular basis will have an information book with tips on where to get the best baguettes, pastries, meat, etc., as well as local restaurants, cafes and bistros that are worth a visit.

[menton1]

There are so many great restaurant choices in every part of Paris, it would be difficult to make a bad choice, here. Ditto for choosing based on other criteria such as the apartment conditions themselves.

[John Talbott]

There are so many great restaurant choices in every part of Paris, it would be difficult to make a bad choice, here.  Ditto for choosing based on other criteria such as the apartment conditions themselves.

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Yah, I have to agree with Menton. I cannot imagine many areas in Paris that don't have exciting new restos, shops and stuff to see. Quartiers that were once thot out of it (eg the 11th, the 20th, etc) are now branche and expensive and "in." Even where I live, the area that has the most inhabitants who were born in the area, thus, old school, has burst forth with 5-6 new restos in a couple of years. And, as I keep saying, almost any place is but a few Metro stops away.