Affordable Small Hotels in Paris

The Île St.-Louis is picture-book Paris, its narrow, cobblestoned streets lined with cafés, boulangeries, and the original Berthillon ice cream shop. The Hôtel Saint-Louis en l’Isle, 20 rooms in a handsomely renovated 19th-century building, sustains the sense of well-polished nostalgia. A twist of your fleur-de-lis-shaped room key reveals stone floors, tufted velvet headboards, and custom bathroom fixtures. Other thoughtful details—such as the loaner iPads with weather, currency, and translation apps—belie the reasonable price. So does the central location: the Latin Quarter, the Marais, and the tangle of flying buttresses at the rear of Notre Dame are all just a bridge span away.

75 Rue St.-Louis en l’Île; 33-1/46-34-04-80; saintlouisenlisle.com; doubles from $225. Métro: Pont-Marie; Cité

Note: Prices listed are the lowest for a double room in April 2012; these may rise or fall depending on exchange rates, season, availability, length of stay, and other factors. All hotels have elevators, 24-hour reception, en suite bathrooms, and, with one exception, in-room TV’s and phones.

A tasteful room with a view at the 19th-century Hôtel Saint-Louis en l’Isle.

75 Rue St.-Louis en l’Île; 33-1/46-34-04-80; saintlouisenlisle.com; doubles from $225. Métro: Pont-Marie; Cité

Just four blocks north of the Louvre, the Crayon, as its name suggests, is all about a bright, “handmade” hotel experience, as though guests were staying in the residence of a local artist—namely that of its decorator, Julie Gauthron. A poetic, patchwork approach to prints and styles results in a good-humored mash-up: the 26 rooms feature offbeat geometric mirrors, Panton chairs, and spruced-up flea-market finds (articulated lamps; marble-topped nightstands). The basement breakfast room was a work in progress when we were there, but you can opt for croissants and coffee in bed or in the lobby.

25 Rue du Bouloi; 33-1/42-36-54-19; hotelcrayon.com; doubles from $150. Métro: Louvre-Rivoli

The cheery mash-up of prints in this guestroom is typical of Le Crayon and reflects the style of Parisian decorator Julie Gauthron.

25 Rue du Bouloi; 33-1/42-36-54-19; hotelcrayon.com; doubles from $150. Métro: Louvre-Rivoli

A discreet gray façade marks this Upper Marais hotel’s stylish interior. Its concept: art-gallery-meets-lounge-meets-hotel, where you’ll bump into locals as often as you will out-of-towners. Three buildings, including an 18th-century house, are clustered around a private cobblestoned courtyard outfitted with a vertical garden, fireplace, and a café that serves breakfast by day and cocktails at night. An urban-chic palette (ecru, café au lait, chocolate) and arty photos documenting the renovation process define the hotel’s 23 rooms. Bonus points for the Molton Brown products in the smartly laid out bathrooms. For a view of Sacré Coeur, ask for a street-facing room on the seventh and eighth floors.

11 Rue des Gravilliers; 33-1/44-54-13-13; hoteljulesetjim.com; doubles from $235. Métro: Arts et Métiers

The urban-chic palette of grays carries over to the bar at Jules & Jim, where breakfast and, later, wines are served.

11 Rue des Gravilliers; 33-1/44-54-13-13; hoteljulesetjim.com; doubles from $235. Métro: Arts et Métiers

The Rue de Penthièvre is unexpectedly quiet for being just a few blocks from both the Champs-Élysées and President Sarkozy’s official pad on the Rue du Faubourg St.-Honoré. Another surprise: how smartly some brightly patterned wallpaper and plush-looking bedspreads can perk up humdrum furniture and basic baths. One of several properties on the street, it’s by far the best value: the 26 rooms, though small, feel up-to-date and chic, aided by exposed beams (on the fifth floor) and wall-to-wall carpet that’s actually nice. A breakfast garden is filled with potted plants, marigolds, and a chestnut tree. The quirky proprietors may seem gruff to guests not accustomed to Parisian manners, but give them a smile and they become pussycats.

15 Rue de Penthièvre; 33-1/42-65-84-15; hotelalbion.net; doubles from $155. Métro: Miromésnil

Though the hotel has been open nearly half a century, its 51 rooms are IKEA-upbeat and regularly renovated, the latest handful about a year ago. Friendly and capable hotel staff can be counted on to steer you through the restaurant-rich neighborhood, a few blocks downhill from Montmartre. The modern sensibility carries through to the lobby and its poppy vinyl furniture. With seasonal and Web offers, a night here can cost as little as $85—making it easier to forgive the lack of AC.

6 Rue Victor Massé; 33-1/48-78-45-26; hoteldeturin.com; doubles from $140. Métro: Pigalle

There’s a quiet revolution afoot in this centrally located, family-owned hotel as it moves from quaint to sleek. Bathrooms in most of its 32 rooms have just been renovated, and the rest of the property is gradually following suit, a piece of contemporary furniture added here, a new wallpaper (like the Paris rooftop motif in No. 16) put up there. Still, an old-world spirit remains intact, with a winding staircase, erstwhile sailors’ trunks recast as TV consoles, and brass bed frames that recall guesthouses of a century ago. As in most old Paris buildings, ceilings get lower the higher one climbs: under the seventh-floor eaves, you can lie in bed and gaze over the skyline.

21 Rue Molière; 33-1/42-96-22-01; hotel-moliere.fr; doubles from $245. Métro: Pyramides; Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre

Named for the 18th-century playwright (he wrote The Marriage of Figaro) and revolutionary who did some of his best work up the street—now one of the main shopping drags of the Marais—this 19-room retreat incorporates plenty of historical charm. Archival fabrics cover walls, and the rooms have exposed beams and real antiques. Granted, even the top-rung rooms are cozy to the point of tiny—more so than other hotels on this list. And those facing the street may prove noisy. But there is sweetness and light, from the tinkling little chandeliers to the patient staff.

Doubles from $185. Métro: Hôtel de Ville; St.-Paul

Rooms at the Hôtel Caron may be petite, but they’re filled with charming details, such as archival fabrics, original wood beams, and chandeliers.

Doubles from $185. Métro: Hôtel de Ville; St.-Paul

This 24-room boutique is a perennial favorite: book far in advance, especially for stays during Fashion Week in October and March. Restaurant scion Thierry Costes and artist and nightlife celeb Mr. André splurged on high-thread-count sheets, Kiehl’s products, and unique design—think jewel-toned lacquer walls, original photography, and collectible toys—while spurning needless amenities for the laptop generation, such as TV’s and phones. Several rooms have bathrooms sans walls, so you should only stay with your closest intimate. A lively bistro—with one of Paris’s most hopping brunches—substitutes for a lobby and acts as an artery for the cool kids enlivening the Ninth Arrondissement.

Doubles from $200. Métro: Pigalle; St.-Georges

One of 24 deep-hued rooms at Hôtel Amour, decorated with original artwork and collectibles.

Doubles from $200. Métro: Pigalle; St.-Georges

The 35 recently renovated rooms at the Hôtel des Arts Bastille are snug, efficient, colorful—and well situated for taking advantage of the city’s bobo (bourgeois-bohemian) scene. Up the vibrant Rue de Charonne from the hotel is Septime, one of the hottest tables in Paris. A couple of blocks away is the Art Nouveau landmark Le Bistro du Peintre; closer to the Bastille you’ll find a lineup of fashion favorites such as Isabel Marant and French Trotters. And you’re less than 10 minutes by foot from the multi-culti Marché d’Aligre, open every day except Monday.

2 Rue Godefroy Cavaignac; 33-1/43-79-72-57; paris-hotel-desarts.com; doubles from $110. Métro: Charonne

Located on the city’s residential eastern fringe, just a couple of avenues over from Paris’s largest park, the Bois de Vincennes, the Hôtel de la Porte Dorée feels like a bourgeois town house, with 43 charming rooms over four floors and a towering bookshelf on every landing. Lovingly renovated by Franco-American owners who stocked the place with antiques and reproductions, the hotel recently received a Green Key award for adopting energy-efficient operations and serving free-trade coffee at breakfast, among other eco-conscious practices. Traveling with kids? You’re a five-minute walk from the tropical aquarium at the Palais de la Porte Dorée and the boats and pony rides at Lac Daumesnil.

273 Ave. Daumesnil; 33-1/43-07-56-97; hoteldelaportedoree.com; doubles from $190. Métro: Porte Dorée

The owners of Hôtel de la Porte Dorée filled the town house with antiques, reproductions, and plenty of books, creating spaces that encourage guests to make themselves at home.

273 Ave. Daumesnil; 33-1/43-07-56-97; hoteldelaportedoree.com; doubles from $190. Métro: Porte Dorée

A block from the Moulin Rouge, in the quaint Abbesses neighborhood, is a cheap and cheerful 26-room retreat—emphasis on the cheerful. Common areas are mismatched in an informal, country-house way, with stacks of English-language books in the lobby and a basement-level breakfast nook with exposed stone walls. (The $20 continental breakfast includes fresh-squeezed o.j. and excellent croissants.) Rooms are a bit lived-in but pleasant, with happy hues and accents of handmade fabric; the friendly staff is ready to help with restaurant bookings. If genuine hominess is the goal, this is your spot.

6 Rue Constance; 33-1/70-64-25-25; hotel-relais-montmartre.com; doubles from $240. Métro: Blanche

Behind a sober Art Deco–era façade is a sitting room sprinkled with artifacts culled from the owners’ travels and family archives: old books; Chinese statues; a phonograph. Bustling street notwithstanding, the 39 diminutive rooms have a vintage country appeal: shutters repurposed as headboards; boutis bedspreads topped with multihued pillows. The location—just over the border from the Sixth—is ideal for would-be regulars at restaurants Le Dôme, Le Select, and La Coupole; one block south is the Fondation Cartier contemporary art center.

225 Blvd. Raspail; 33-1/43-20-35-82; paris-montparnasse-hotel.com; doubles from $140. Métro: Raspail; Notre-Dame-des-Champs; Vavin

Opposite the Panthéon, midway between the Luxembourg Gardens and the Rue Mouffetard’s fabulous food market, this plush, Neoclassical hotel has a marble lobby and 31 jewel-box rooms. The interiors reflect the spirit of Napoleon III—bas-reliefs; Greek statuary; laurel motifs—rendered with style and warmth. For a view and/or balcony overlooking the Panthéon and the Right Bank beyond, you’ll need to upgrade from a Classic room to a Superior.

17 Place du Panthéon; 33-1/46-34-19-60; hoteldesgrandshommes.com; doubles from $200. Métro: Cardinal Lemoine; Cluny-La Sorbonne

On his first trip to Paris, Sigmund Freud stayed at what is now the Hôtel les Jardins du Luxembourg, around the corner from the beloved park. Its 26 tidy rooms may be spare, but they have a warm Provençal inflection in shades of olive, ocher, and sunflower, plus cast-iron bed frames and 19th-century prints. Rooms 1 and 27 (from $235) have separate entrances that open directly onto the street for added privacy. The setting on a cul-de-sac means nights should be restful—any dream interpretation is up to you.

5 Impasse Royer-Collard; 33-1/40-46-08-88; les-jardins-du-luxembourg.com; doubles from $220. Métro: Cluny-La Sorbonne; Odéon

Waking up to a view of the Baroque towers of St.-Sulpice church—on the edge of St.-Germain-des-Prés, one of Paris’s fanciest shopping neighborhoods—you’ll be willing to pardon faulty mini-bars and carpets that have seen better days. Even if the accommodations aren’t flawless (and some face a courtyard garden instead of the church) the 26 rooms at this friendly hotel compensate with colorful traditional fabrics and flat-screen TV’s. The honesty bar off the book-lined lobby is another perk, as is the sauna.

3 Rue Garancière; 33-1/46-33-99-00; relais-saint-sulpice.com; doubles from $245. Métro: St.-Sulpice; Mabillon

At the Relais St.-Suplice, 26 rooms come with colorful patterned bedspreads and big windows for admiring the hotel’s namesake: the Baroque church St.-Sulpice.

3 Rue Garancière; 33-1/46-33-99-00; relais-saint-sulpice.com; doubles from $245. Métro: St.-Sulpice; Mabillon

This backstreet gem is the perfect perch for exploring the Left Bank. Sunny street-view rooms have ivy-laced, wrought-iron balconies that overlook a boutique-dotted lane. A wobbly winding staircase adds a flourish of well-worn Parisian charm, but the entire 21-room hotel has been updated with modern furnishings and a neutral palette. Wander up the street to browse for antiques; a few blocks farther east you’ll find python carryalls at Jérôme Dreyfuss and salted-caramel macarons at Ladurée.

3 Rue du Pré aux Clercs; 33-1/42-61-01-22; hotel-st-thomas-daquin.com; doubles from $220. Métro: Rue du Bac; St.-Germain-des-Prés

Owners Sophie and François Meisel ditched careers in advertising to open this attractive four-story contemporary find. Each floor has a different color scheme—fuchsia, mustard, prune, orange—with the 36 rooms offering variations, whether via custom-designed wallpaper or bright pillows atop down comforters. Within easy reach of the Gare Montparnasse, the neighborhood is an understated slice of vieux Paris: courtyard rooms overlook a small terrace and quaint houses in the alley behind. Nearby, there’s a flourishing bistronomie scene, notably at the Cantine du Troquet (try the goat-cheese salad with escargots).

53 Rue de Gergovie; 33-1/45-42-11-39; lamaisonmontparnasse.com; doubles from $170. Métro: Pernety; Plaisance