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and its top-end hostels are among the city’s finest. Despite massive gentrification in recent years, there are also some less expensive hotels left and the choice of lower-priced one- and two-star hotels remains excellent. East of the Bastille, the relatively untouristy 11e is generally made up of unpretentious working-class areas and is a good way to see the ‘real’ Paris up close. Two-star comfort there is less expensive than in the Marais.

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top picks

BOUTIQUE HOTELS

Hôtel La Manufacture

Le Général Hôtel (right)

Mayet Hôtel

Hôtel du Petit Moulin (below)

Kube Hôtel

Select Hôtel

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MURANO URBAN RESORT Map Boutique Hotel €€€

01 42 71 20 00; www.muranoresort.com; 13 blvd du Temple, 3e; s €360, d €440-650, ste €750-1200; Filles du Calvaire;

This 52-room ‘urban resort’ south of place de la République wears a classical 19th-century exterior but has the 21st century inside. And with public areas like a new spa with heated pool, a courtyard restaurant under glass, a cool jazz bar with DJ, and bedrooms that allow you to change their colour scheme, it might even be the 22nd.

HÔTEL DU BOURG TIBOURG Map Boutique Hotel €€€

01 42 78 47 39; www.hoteldubourgtibourg.com; 19 du Bourg Tibourg, 4e; s €180, d €230-260, ste €360; Hôtel de Ville or St-Paul;

This stunning 30-room boutique hotel is in the Hôtel Costes stable and was also done up by über-designer Jacques Garcia. The result is romantic ‘French’ neogothic combined with Orientalia. Be aware that this place is built more for romance than business; rooms are not particularly large, except for the one suite.

HÔTEL DU PETIT MOULIN Map Boutique Hotel €€€

01 42 74 10 10; www.hoteldupetitmoulin.com; 29-31 rue du Poitou, 3e; r €180-280, ste €350; Filles du Calvaire;

Oh, brave new world! This scrumptious boutique hotel (OK, we’re impressed that it was a bakery at the time of Henri IV) was designed from top to bottom by Christian Lacroix and features 17 completely different rooms. You can choose from medieval and rococo Marais sporting exposed beams and dressed in Toile de Jouy wallpaper, to a more modern quartier with contemporary murals and heart-shaped mirrors just this side of kitsch. ‘The Little Mill’ is a wonderful new addition to the northern end of the Marais and highly recommended.

LE GÉNÉRAL HÔTEL Map Boutique Hotel €€€

01 47 00 41 57; www.legeneralhotel.com; 5-7 rue Rampon, 11e; s €143-163, d €173-203, tr €203-233, ste €243-273; République;

This 48-room hotel is a symphony in white on the outside and bonbon box of cherry and chocolate tones within. The hotel’s décor is fresh and fun, and the rooms are beautifully furnished. The light ‘sculpture’ in the bar off the lobby is memorable and amenities include a fitness centre and sauna.

CASTEX HÔTEL Map Hotel €€

01 42 72 31 52; www.castexhotel.com; 5 rue Castex, 4e; s/d €120/150, ste €220; Bastille;

Equidistant from the Bastille and the Marais, the 30-room Castex has modernised but managed to retain some of its 17th-century elements, including a vaulted stone cellar used as a breakfast room, terracotta tiles on the floor and Toile de Jouy wallpaper. Try to get one of the independent rooms (1 and 2) off the lovely patio; No 3 is a two-room suite or family room.

HÔTEL BASTILLE DE LAUNAY Map Hotel €€

01 47 00 88 11; www.paris-hotel-launay.com; 42 rue Amelot, 11e; s €110, d €140-160; Chemin Vert;

This 36-room hotel offers good value due to its central location just up from place de la Bastille. Rooms are smallish and much of a muchness, with classic two-star furnishings and carpets. Rooms ending in ‘1’ face quiet rue Amelot and the steps up to busy blvd Beaumarchais.

HÔTEL DU VIEUX SAULE Map Hotel €€

01 42 72 01 14; www.hotelvieuxsaule.com; 6 rue de Picardie, 3e; s €120, d €140-160, tr €180; Filles du Calvaire;

This flower-bedecked 28-room hostelry in the northern Marais is something of a ‘find’ because of its slightly unusual location. The hotel has a small sauna, there is a tranquil little garden on full display behind glass off the lobby. Breakfast is served in the 16th-century vaulted