RUE BERNARD DE CLAIRVAUX
The mere fact a train can land me on the cobbled streets of Paris in the same amount of time it takes for me to get to my hometown of Sheffield means I’ve seen a lot more of The Louvre than Meadowhall shopping centre in recent years. While staying in a hotel is always a lovely experience, I always gaze up at those Juliet balconies and wish I was going to my own little pad in Paris after a hard day’s exploring. Luckily, with a trip booked via onefinestay, this is actually possible. Yet, while its website is jam-packed with classically Parisian pads, I finally end up opting for something more modern. A stone’s throw from the Centre Georges Pompidou, my four-bedroom apartment is light and airy, painted in shades of cream with a big living space featuring skylights, a balcony along the length of one side and a spiral staircase leading from the living room to a mezzanine-level bedroom. The residents’ personal belongings are stashed in a few cupboards, but everything else is yours to use, from the chic crockery to the Nespresso machine. White fluffy towels and L’occitane products in the bathrooms give it a boutique-hotel vibe, but the joy of this place is that it actually feels like your own (albeit with complimentary weekly housekeeping service).
Situated in a small courtyard of apartments in the 3rd arrondissement, also known as Haut-marais (northern Marais), it feels like you’re truly hanging out with the locals here (in fact, we meet some lovely ones in the lift!), and the amenities range from a well-stocked Monoprix supermarket to Derrière – the hipster Parisian outpost of London’s Sketch restaurant, which serves radishes with pink salt as an amuse-bouche, mille-feuille for two, plus there’s an armoire at the end of the corridor upstairs, which leads you to a secret drinking spot. What’s more, all the main sights (Notre Dame, The Louvre) are about a 15-minute walk away, making this a great place for a family, or a bunch of friends, to call home.
JODIE DUNWORTH
TRIP NOTES Rue Bernard de Clairvaux, Le Marais, Paris. Apartments from £526 per night, sleeps eight. Visit onefinestay.com