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An Apartment in Paris

Cooper Paris Flats
Page 3
Continued from page 2

ABOVE: The bedroom with its queen-size bed.

The apartment

Our one-bedroom flat was located in the Rue Chanoinesse, near the eastern tip of the Île de la Cité and one short block from the cathedral of Nôtre-Dame. To enter the building, we typed a doorcode into a security keypad by the wooden double doors on the street; we then entered a stone courtyard, walked to a set of wood-and-glass doors at the far end, climbed two long flights up a staircase, unlocked a door to a small roof terrace between our building and the neighboring apartment house, and finally unlocked the door to our own flat. (The process took less time than you might think from the description; our morning trips to the bakery around the corner never took more than ten minutes.)

The door from the terrace led into a tiny entrance foyer (handy for storing coats and umbrellas) and a good-size kitchen. The kitchen's appliances included a small refrigerator, a hybrid gas-electric stove with a convection oven, a microwave, an electric coffeemaker, a toaster, and a washer-dryer for clothes.

The cabinets had a good assortment of pans, cutting boards, dishes, glasses, and flatware, most of which were new (and, according to Cheryl, from Ikea). The kitchen also had a large wooden table with three chairs; a fourth matching chair could be fetched from the bedroom if needed.

A door from the kitchen led into the bedroom (see photo at top of page), which had a queen-sized bed and tall windows that faced the courtyard. A large built-in closet with sliding, mirrored doors offered plenty of hanger space and a couple of high shelves.

On the left beyond the kitchen was the bathroom, which was attractively tiled with a large glass shower stall, a stylish modern sink, a big medicine cabinet with three compartments, and shelf space for towels, a hair dryer, etc. (We could have used more towel racks, but that was a minor oversight.)

To the right of the bathroom was the living room (a short step down from the kitchen and bathroom area), which had a non-working fireplace on one side and antique furnishings.

The cable TV offered dozens of channels in several languages, and--as in most of Glenn Cooper's apartments--there was a DSL router for easy Internet access with laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

The sofa converted into a bed at night. (Our teenage son had trouble getting comfortable on the thin mattress, but it probably would have been adequate for a smaller child.)

Shelves near the couch provided a bonus: a collection of reading material, including several travel and restaurant guides to supplement the Paris Insider's Guide that we'd been given at the Cooper Paris Flats office.

The rental rate covered everything, including fresh linens and a cleaning each week. All in all, we were delighted with the apartment and expect to rent it again--assuming that it's available during our next visit, and that we aren't tempted to try one of Glenn Cooper's apartments on the Left or Right Bank instead.

Next page: Advice for renters

About the author:

Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (including Paris for Visitors) in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post.

For more information, see About our site, press clippings, and reader testimonials.

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