Hôtel Bourg Tibourg, Paris
The deal: €220 ($278) for a double room; €160 for a single
The hood: The Marais, a trendy, gay-friendly area within walking distance of Notre Dame and the Ile St-Louis.
What you'll get: All the swinging hipness that its designer, Jacques Garcia of Hôtel Costes fame, is known for—but not at Hôtel Costes prices. The rooms are an eclectic mixture of Gothic and Asian, with lush colors and rich fabrics, and mosaic tiles in the well-lighted bathrooms. They're comfortable, too, with beds made up in crisp white linens. Find solace from the city buzz in the charming interior garden designed by Camille Muller, one of France's hottest landscape architects. Not surprisingly, this place is a second home to the fashion herd—designers, buyers, photographers—so be sure to book well ahead during runway show season.
Near and not so dear: Grab a baguette from a boulangerie and have a picnic surrounded by the perfectly symmetrical Renaissance buildings of the Place des Vosges, Paris's oldest square. You'll find a much more postmodern façade at the Centre Georges Pompidou, with its famous exoskeleton; if you don't want to cough up €10 to see the Duchamps, Picassos, and Matisses inside, the street performers outside are free.

Hôtel Bourg Tibourg
19 rue du Bourg-Tibourg
Tel: 33 1 42 78 47 39
Fax: 33 1 40 29 07 00
Email: hotel@bourgtibourg.com

Centre Georges Pompidou
Place Georges Pompidou
Tel: 33 1 44 78 12 33
Closed Tuesdays