Getting there.

Getting to Abbesses Apartment couldn’t be easier. Most international flights come in to Charles de Gaule airport to the north (Roissy if you’re a Frenchman who didn’t like the President) and a taxi ride to the apartment will take about thirty minutes depending on the traffic. There is also a bus service into Paris, called Roissybus which will take you to the Opera in about 45 minutes from where you can take the metro or there is the local train, the RER. Line B will take you from the airport to the Gare du Nord in about 30 minutes.

The Metro Station at Les Abbesses is just a short stroll away from the apartment and is on line 12. Don’t forget to stop and admire the delightful original Art Nouveau entrance – there are not many left.
Useful stations on the line include Saint Lazare (easy access to the big department stores Printemps etc; Madeleine (who can resist a visit to Fauchon – even if it’s just to window shop) or it's just a short walk to see the Opera; Concorde – it's as quick to walk from here to the Louvre as to change trains; Assemblée Nationale (for Les Invalides) and Rue du Bac – for the chic department store Le bon Marché and St Germain des Près.

The electric or LPG powered Montmartrobus (its both environmentally friendly and quiet!) stops close by the apartment in rue Durantin and it will take you up to La Place du Tertre or down to the Mairie. It is perfect for visiting Montmartre if you don’t want to walk and is worth the price of a ticket even if you just take the bus on a round trip for a site seeing tour.

Since their introduction in July 2007 “Vélib’s” – bicycles for rent – have taken Paris by storm. There are now some 20,000 in circulation in Paris and there are two “stations” a short walk from the apartment in Rue Joseph de Maistre and another equally nearby in Rue Véron. The first 30 minutes is free but you have to subscribe and leave a deposit of 150 euros with your credit card – currently 1 day costs 1 euro and 7 days 5 euros.