.3rd Le Marais holiday apartment: Marais

This divine apartment rental is a very spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bath, located in a land marked 17th century courtyard in Paris ' historic Marais district.
The beautifully renovated apartment offers great swaths of oak paneling that serve to divide and make private the various rooms to accommodate a range of moods, or houseguests. Every room is bathed in natural light: the tall windows of the main salon and master bedroom look out onto the ravishing 17 th century facade of the Hotel Jean Bart of which the apartment is part. The windows of the dining room, kitchen and guest bedroom look out into a quiet back courtyard with plenty of blue sky and sun.

The apartment is filled with an eclectic, stylish mix of antique and modern pieces. 18th century tapestries play off of modern white Lucite dining chairs. Cowhide rugs turn the more conservative décor of chandeliers and marble on its ear with a playful twist. Looking out over the magnolia-filled courtyard through windows open to the spring breeze, you might imagine yourself in a country Chateau, but you are right in the heart of Paris —in one of its oldest and liveliest districts, the Marais.

The master bedroom, a choclaterie of dreams, is painted a dark, somnolent brown. Its queen bed with crisp white linens and modern poster frame invites the sleep of the just. With an en-suite bathroom in green marble, this room will nourish the soul.

In a soothing palette of gray and white, the second bedroom will be sure to coax only the most slumberous an afternoon rest. This bedroom, too, has an en-suite bathroom, with a deep tub and handheld shower.

There is a fully equipped kitchen with dishwasher, washer/dryer and microwave.

Everyone has a different reason for loving Paris, and this apartment on the rue du Temple will be the perfect addition to your list. Situated in the Marais, this apartment is just four blocks away from the Picasso Museum and the Centre Pompidou.

A five-minute walk east takes you to some of the trendiest little shopping streets in Paris, among them the cutting edge shops of the rue des Francs-Bourgeois.

A three-minute walk north brings you to one of the finest street markets for antiques and gourmet foods. Ten minutes walk south and you're standing at Notre-Dame Cathedral on the Seine .

On rue Rambuteau, all the food that brings us to Paris can be found in a single block: ?- a boulanger artisanal for your bread and pastries, traiteurs for those amazing sausages and patés, one of the few remaining poissoniers still going strong for fresh fish and oysters a great wine shop and a chocolaterie for a little love of the confectionary kind.