Some caveats -- if an apartment is above a restaurant, there's not only the noise factor. There are times of the year that you need to open the windows.

And - you may be the recipient of cooking smells, ones from the trash and the trash men coming at 5ish a.m.
Be sure you're protected from all of the above.

I once stayed in an apartment above a restaurant on the busy rue St. Severin in the 5th. The restaurant below had lively piano music into the wee hours, but it wasn't too bad. The windows were double-glazed, which helps a lot to keep out the street noise.

Later I lived on the first floor, almost above a restaurant (immediately below me was a gallery, and the restaurant was right next door) on a narrow one-way street. The biggest problems there were:
- people leaving the restaurant late in the evening and talking/singing/yelling in the street
(I didn't have double-glazed windows there so I got the full effect)
- cars honking behind the delivery trucks in the morning

If the bedroom is on the courtyard and the windows are double-glazed, you probably won't be bothered at all. As for trash trucks, you can't get away from those in Paris; the only difference is what time they come by. Sometimes in my old neighborhood it was around 10 p.m.; in my current location it's usually between 5 and 6 p.m.

Thanks for the update, Calypso P. It's nice to hear you had a good stay!

Hi everyone, I haven't been here in forever! Anyway, I've been back to Paris 3 times since that November trip in 2006 and have stayed in different apartments all over the place. That once apartment I stayed at above the restaurant turned out to be a perfect place to stay at! It was so quiet thanks to the double glazed windows and the bedroom that looked out into the courtyard. I don't remember ever being woken up by the trash collection or the cooking smells so that turned out great. I'd stay at the apartment again if I didn't want to explore the rest of the city. This one was rented via Vacation in Paris and is right in front of the Eglise de L'Oratoire du Louvre. In fact if you have the living room windows open you can see everyone coming in and out of the church. Oh I want to be in Paris again!

Hmmmm - just checking in. Did you enjoy the apartment. Did you encounter a lot of noise and the restaurant's kitchen smells? Were there trash trucks clanging each morning? I lived on top of a restaurant for six months and decided I needed more sleep. Would you rent that apartment again? THANKS

Ahh! That explains it! I just can't imagine how the case would be similar in a self-serving apartment. But Karen is right, I've paid my deposit so I'll just stick with it. The advantage of this apartment is that it is so close to everything my husband would want to go to so I think whatever noise below wafts into our windows I'll just tell him is part of the Paris experience, haha .

Calypso...... one item that Parisians (French? Europeans?) are up tight about is the cost of power (and this goes way way back before the current energy crisis). On AC many systems even if you think you have the controls in your room, there is a duplicate set at the front desk which supercedes iit. Light bulbs in the rooms usually have small wattage keeping the room darker than it could or should be. And the lulu of them all is the timed light switches in halls that keep the lights on only as long as the estimated time needed. The real beauty is the lights in restaurant toilets (which are to be off if not in use) and if you forget where the light switch is you can be in trouble...BIG TIME.

If you've rented the apartment, it's too late to fret. It will only make you more apprehensive. The reason many hotels have either heat or AC is because of the way the system is configured. One or the other ... and c'est tout.

As for the apartment, bring earplugs and enjoy!

That might be a good idea. However, I wonder why the hotel ACs would be inoperative then? Is it just because they turn off the service since November is generally pleasant? This is an apartment I would be renting that advertises the AC alongside the heating. Maybe I should ask the owners about this situation. I normally wouldn't be too fussy with heating/ac but this right above a busy restaurant bothers me a bit. I know there are other apartments out there but I have made my deposit already and would stand to lose it if nobody else takes it after I cancel.

Karen, thanks for those other considerations you mentioned. We are arriving on a Sunday in November so I don't expect much activity below the apartment. Still, I am a little uncertain as it is my husband's first time in Paris and don't want the experience less than perfect for him so he'll want to keep coming back .

It might come in handy. You might want to keep your windows closed with the AC on to circulate the air. However, don't count on it as many hotels (probably most) have the AC inopperative in November.

Hummm. be prepared not to sleep before 11 PM. Rugby players are not known to be silent types. If the restaurant has a kitchen, don't be surprised if you smell food being cooked very early in the morning for that day's lunch. And, depending on the location of the garbage bins, there may or may not be noise as the trash men are doing their jobs at 5 a.m.

One thing for certain, you won't need the AC!

Hope this helps.....

PS -- I would much rather rent this apartment in November than in July and there are always ear plugs.

Hello again! I'm just a few days away from my Paris trip and already thinking about my next! I am very lucky to be going to Paris twice this year, with my husband on the second trip. I am currently making plans for our November trip and was thinking of renting a very beautiful apartment on Rue Saint Honore that was just recently renovated. However, after a lot of research, I just realised that the apartment I have my eyes on is right above the Restaurant Le Stado on Rue Saint Honore. I researched on said restaurant and found out it is a well frequented location and closes at 23hr in the evening. It is also popular with the rugby playing/watching crowd.

My question is, do you think it will be too noisy to say in the apartment knowing that we are directly above a very high traffic restaurant? The aparment is on the first floor of the building although the website advertises double glazed windows and the bedroom window overlooks the small courtyard and not the street. It is also air conditioned, though I doubt highly I'd have any use for it in November.

Any ideas?