If you are visiting French friends, do not forget the entry code to the door. You will not be able to enter any building in the historic part of Paris without the access code. If you do know it, you can go through the internal courtyard (cour intérieure) first which will lead you directly to the concierge.

Typical House in Paris

The external access code is changed twice a year by the house management, so if you have not visited your French friend in a while, you will need the new code number before visiting. Some houses have a double system of codes (external and internal) or an intercom or speakerphone on the door. Also find out which floor and which stairway you need to take (escalier A, B or C) to find the right apartment.

The ground floor(rez-de-chaussee), which Frenchmen generally do not number, does not always have apartments on it. It is often just an entrance to the building, a hall with an elevator and the concierge residence. Therefore in France the second floor is considered to be the First (premier étage); the third floor is called the Second etc. Like the ground floor, the top floor in old Parisian apartments is unusual too. The Mansard (la Mansarde) named after the French architect of the 17th century, François Mansara, has small attic rooms (chambres de bonnes) where in the 19th century, servants (bonnes) lived. However, you should not envy these servants, as it is not easy to live normally in these rooms. Students who rent these rooms nowadays have adapted and they manage to fit a table, a bed and even a shower into these tiny rooms. These “packing cases” are too hot in the summer beneath the hot roof, and too cold and wet in winter. Although living beneath the eaves in Paris has a sense of romance, in reality there is very little comfort to be enjoyed.