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HÔTEL SÉVIGNÉ Map Hotel €€

01 42 72 76 17; www.le-sevigne.com; 2 rue Malher, 4e; s €67, d & tw €80-91, tr €107; St-Paul;

This hotel in the heart of the Marais, and named after the celebrated 17th-century writer, the Marquise de Sévigné (whose letters give us such a wonderful insight into the Paris of her day) is excellent value for its location and price. The hotel’s 29 rooms, spread over six floors and accessible by lift, are basic but comfortably furnished.

HÔTEL LYON MULHOUSE Map Hotel €€

01 47 00 91 50; www.1-hotel-paris.com; 8 blvd Beaumarchais, 11e; s €65-90, d €78-110, tr €110-130; Bastille;

This former post house, from where carriages would set out for Lyon and Mulhouse, has been a hotel since the 1920s. The 40 rooms, though not particularly special, are comfortable, quiet and of a good size; opt for room 12 with a door leading to a courtyard. Place de la Bastille is just around the corner.

HÔTEL BAUDELAIRE BASTILLE Map Hotel €

01 47 00 40 98; www.paris-hotel-bastille.com; 12 rue de Charonne, 11e; s €55-66, d €62-76, tr €71-89, q €89-108; Bastille or Ledru Rollin;

This independent one-star hotel is in an ancient building that is coy about showing its age except for the odd worm-chewed beam. The 46 rooms are of a decent size and spotless, though there is no lift. Rooms look out onto a quiet courtyard or the street but double-glazing more or less keeps the noise where it belongs. Internet costs €2 for 15 minutes or €6 per hour.

GRAND HÔTEL DU LOIRET Map Hotel €

01 48 87 77 00; hotelduloiret@hotmail.com; 8 rue des Mauvais Garçons, 4e; s €50-80, d €50-90, tr/q €100/110; Hôtel de Ville or St-Paul;

This 27-room budget hotel in the heart of gay Marais is very popular with young male travellers, not just because it is within easy walking distance of just about everything after dark, but because it sits – or does it lie? – on the ‘Street of the Bad Boys’. Seven of the rooms have neither private shower nor bath or toilet but share facilities off the corridors. Those rooms are a steal at €50. Internet access costs a whopping €3/5/9 for 15/30/60 minutes.

HÔTEL DE LA HERSE D’OR Map Hotel €

01 48 87 84 09; www.hotel-herse-dor.com; 20 rue St-Antoine, 4e; basic s/d €45/60, with shower d/tr €76/96; Bastille;

This friendly place east of place de la Bastille has 35 serviceable rooms off a long stone corridor lined with mirrors. It’s very basic and cheap; the lower-priced rooms have washbasins only. Though there’s wi-fi, those without laptops can check their emails at an internet terminal in the lobby for €2/6 for 15/60 minutes. And, in case you wondered, herse in French is not ‘hearse’ but ‘portcullis’. So let’s call it the ‘Golden Gate Hotel’.

HÔTEL DE NEVERS Map Hotel €

01 47 00 56 18; www.hoteldenevers.com; 53 rue de Malte, 11e; s €39, d €45-55, tr €75-87; Oberkampf;

This 32-room budget hotel around the corner from place de la République and within easy walking distance of the nightlife of Ménilmontant is under new management but remains excellent value. Hyper-allergenics may think twice about staying here, though: there are three cats on hand to greet you. Rooms at the low-end of the scale share bathing facilities.

HÔTEL RIVOLI Map Hotel €

01 42 72 08 41; 44 rue de Rivoli & 2 rue des Mauvais Garçons, 4e; s €35-55, d €44-55, tr €70; Hôtel de Ville

Long a Lonely Planet favourite (there’s no pretending who we are – or are not – with these guys), the Rivoli is forever cheery but not as dirt cheap as it once was, with 20 basic, somewhat noisy rooms. The cheaper singles and doubles have washbasins only, but use of the shower room in the hallway is free. Annoyingly – given that it is in the heart of the Marais nightlife area – the front door is locked from 2am to 7am. Reception is on the 1st floor.

MAISON INTERNATIONALE DE LA JEUNESSE ET DES ÉTUDIANTS Map Hostel €

MIJE; 01 42 74 23 45; www.mije.com; per person dm €29, s/d/tr €47/34/30;

The MIJE runs three hostels in attractively renovated 17th- and 18th-century