Come on in to our Colmar Apartment!

Just a block from the quaint shopping/restaurant area is our apartment.  Open the door to the entry and climb one flight of stairs to our flat.

 The living/dining room and kitchen are one space with three high casement double windows flooding the room with light and fresh air.  (You can see in the mirror that  I'm busy taking photos while David is still exploring.)

Here are those windows I was talking about.  We have three in the main living area and one in each of the sleeping areas.

This kitchen is such a treat.  Of necessity, as in any large city, our Paris kitchen was barely big enough for one, but we could throw a party in this one!

The bath is at one end of the hallway with a spacious shower and a washing machine.  There's even a heated towel rack!

And there is a lovely mirrored armoire for storage and hanging clothes at the other end of the hall.

The sleeping areas are to the right of the armoire.  Since David and I cannot sleep together in a double bed (Remember, he's 6'5" and I'm 5"10".), we chose this particular apartment because it has a little sleeping alcove adjoining the bedroom.

Here's the additional sleeping area with twin beds and another of those beautiful windows.

The apartment is a little too Louis Quatorze for our taste, but it is lovely in its own way, immaculately clean, lavishly appointed with ironed bed linens  (!), WiFi, a TV, full kitchen and that great little washing machine.

Maybe the best part, though, is that this bit of Alsatian paradise is ours for a week for €320.   Yes, that's roughly €46 per night or €23 per person.  It would be impossible to find a decent hotel for this price, and I think it would be impossible to find even a backpacker's hostel for €23.

The price, though, is only one reason why I'm such an advocate of apartment rentals.  Here we have the room to truly relax with my "office" set up on one end of the kitchen table, our brochures and bus schedules arranged on the buffet in the living room, and David, who's developed a nasty cold, still asleep in the bedroom.  None of that would be possible in a cramped hotel room.

So, if you have never thought of apartment rentals for a vacation, you may want to reconsider before your next trip to Europe.

Practicalities -
Finding a luxurious yet inexpensive apartment can be as difficult as choosing a well-priced hotel room.  I wish I could give you all the tips you need for finding the right place for you, but there's not enough space in a blog piece.  Please get a copy of my book, Europe on a Dime: Five-Star Travel on a One-Star Budget, if you want to know how to identify the best apartment rentals, how to write the  query letter, how to pay the deposit, and how to avoid being ripped off.