This summer the hubs and I are going to spend a week at the Chateau Ventenac with a group of 8 friends from law school. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited!

(Yes, the whole thing!!!)

Just last night I booked our tickets using aeroplan points. Yay! [Begin rant] Aeroplan seemed like a great deal… until I got the bill. It cost $800 for two “free” trips to Europe. Sure, that’s $1400 cheaper than buying them ourselves, but it just left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve previously paid $500 for the privilege of using aeroplan, which sucks, but $800. Come on. To put this into perspective a few weeks ago I flew to San Francisco all in, ticket, taxes, everything, for $330. Just saying. [End rant]

Notwithstanding the cost of flying there, I am getting pretty excited. We are flying overnight to Paris, arriving on a Monday morning at 9:55 am, spending the week in Paris, taking the TGV down to the Chateau for a week, then taking a train to Barcelona and spending 3 days/4 nights in Barcelona before we need to come home. I’m going to use up 12 vacation days (eek), but I’ve got some banked from last year, and it will be worth it! I cannot wait!

At this point, though, I’m trying to figure out where we should stay in Paris and Barcelona. We are going to be in each of the cities for enough days to warrant renting an apartment rather than a hotel, and I have some top choices.

If you’ve never staying in an apartment rather than a hotel before, I *highly* recommend it. First, it’s way cheaper. Second, its generally bigger, and more comfortable. And third, you may meet new friends (we became friends with Paola & Isak after they rented us an apartment in Rio).

Right now, I’m trying to figure out where to stay in Paris for our first five nights.  Some top contenders are:

Nuits St. Georges Paris | 40 euros pn

On price alone, this is by far the top contender… If it is not too good to be true. It looks beautiful, it is in a good location and it looks pristine, clean and bright. However; at this price, it makes me a little suspicious.

Charming apartment in Paris 15th | 47 euros pn

Marina’s place looks AMAZING. It’s also listed through a broker, airbnb, so if we have a problem, there is someone to help us. Finally, its in the 15e, and I’ve never stayed in the 15e, so it means a new neighbourhood to discover!

Heart of Montmartre Industrial Loft | 50 euros pn

Maurice’s place looks a little rough around the edges, and it is on the ground floor. But, it is right in Montmartre and comes with wifi. Location wise, it is amazing. It’s a serious contender.  It’s also through airbnb, which provides and added level of security.  [Update.  This was vetoed by the hubs.  Apparently it is too rough around the edges for our limited vacation days.]

The Craigslist Ad | 60 euros per night

Then we have the craigslist ad. It looks amazing. Like seriously amazing. In Montmartre. With wifi. But it is only posted on craigslist. I know that is ridiculous, I’ve found all these other website from craiglist. And almost anyone can throw together a website in a minute. But I don’t know. Something about no link just makes my heart flutter.  I’ll have to contact the owner and see how I feel.

Paris Flats, Two Choices | 65 euros per night
This one:

Or this one:

These are both cute and well located. They are great choices, if some of the others, above, fall through.

Any and all thoughts are appreciated!  Have you rented an apartment in Paris (or anywhere else for that matter) before?