If you're considering a Paris vacation, rentals, hotels or timeshare will be one question you need to ask yourself - where would you like to stay?

You see, a vacation in Paris is not like spending a couple of weeks at the beach, or going on a cruise - Paris is a beautiful city, with so many sights to see and so much wonderful food to experience.

All of which means that you won't be wanting to spend a whole lot of time in your hotel room - you'll want to be out savouring the hustle and bustle of Parisian life.

So, let's look at the pros and cons of a Paris vacation apartment rental, a typical Paris hotel and a timeshare.

Firstly, hotels in Paris, especially cheap Paris hotels (e.g. two or three star) tend to have very small rooms.

While these hotels may be functional, with clean rooms, private bathrooms and a reasonable breakfast in a communal dining room (which is frequently down in the basement), the rooms themselves are not somewhere you'd want to spend a lot of time.

Most of these hotels are relatively small, with just a few rooms, which personally we prefer to the large "bed factories", but you still have to remember that you're sharing facilities with a bunch of other tourists and there may be considerable noise.

As for timeshares, then we can discount those at a stroke - they're expensive, they can be very restrictive (who wants or is able to go on holiday at the same time every single year), and they're probably not going to be exactly where you want them.

On the other hand, a Paris vacation apartment will typically house just you and your family or friends, so you'll have much greater privacy.

Secondly, you won't just get one tiny room with an even tinier bathroom - you'll have a whole apartment to yourself, which means room to spread out and relax, for when you've walked your feet off around the city.

Thirdly, although you'll want to try as many different restaurants and bistros as you can, since there's such a massive choice, it can be fun, just occasionally, to buy food at a local market and cook it yourself, so by going for one of the many Paris vacation homes, you will have a kitchen at your disposal, should you want.

Even though Paris is a relatively compact city, the various districts all have a very different look and feel, so if you're looking to stay in a specific arrondissement, the chances are you'll find Paris flats available to rent just where you want them.

We've searched out a few, in different areas of Paris, based on our frequent visits to this city, which we are happy to recommend to you.