Hotel Esmeralda

With a "magnifique" Left Bank location directly across the Seine from Notre Dame, the Hotel Esmeralda offers 16 funky and somewhat renovated rooms at reasonable rates. For the quirky at heart, this one-star wonder will be a dream-come-true.

We're pretty sure we know why the one-star Hotel Esmeralda has been one of the most popular hotels on EuroCheapo for years. It’s a historic and quirky charmer located on the banks of the Seine with rates that are far cheaper than most boring "normal" hotels in town. For budget travelers with a sense of fun, this place is Cheapo heaven, with rates averaging around €150 a night even in peak travel season.

The building has obviously undergone some changes since it was built in 1640, but it has resisted modernizing away too much of its old charm. The result is a hotel with an old winding wooden staircase, crooked hallways, wood-beamed ceilings and an incredibly eclectic collection of furniture.

Rooms have an old-fashioned charm, with a wild décor that is a "mash-up" of 19th-century French farmhouse, flea market and kitschy High Baroque. Note that amenities are sparse: Rooms are not equipped with TVs, although they do have telephones.

The bathrooms were overhauled and expanded a few years back with new tiling, and some boast antique mirrors. Single rooms are equipped with showers, while all doubles have bathtubs.

Four singles look onto the hotel's dark interior, while the rest of the rooms face the street and offer views guaranteed to provide an excellent photo-op. (More expensive singles are also available facing Notre Dame. Ask when reserving.) Singles, doubles and triples are available.

Some important notes:

• Stairs: Note that the hotel most definitely does not have an elevator. The winding staircase is the only way to reach the rooms.

• Wi-Fi: The hotel does offer free Wi-Fi in every room.

• No breakfast: The hotel does not offer breakfast. However, you’re in “café quarter,” so there are plenty of cute places at which to enjoy a coffee and croissant.

• Location: The Esmeralda is located on the Left Bank of Paris, just across the Seine to the south of Notre Dame. Obviously, this location is convenient for sightseeing. If you don’t mind the crowds and the tour groups, the tiny streets of the Latin Quarter in this part of town are quite enchanting.

Check out the nearby Shakespeare and Co. bookshop for any English literature needs and take a five-minute walk over to the Maubert-Mutualité Metro stop to experience one of Paris’s oldest outdoor markets (complete with one the city’s greatest cheese shops!).

Transportation

Charles de Gaulle Airport: Take RER B to St-Michel-Notre-Dame and walk 5 minutes to hotel.

Orly Airport: Take Orlyval train to RER B to St-Michel-Notre-Dame.

Gare de Lyon: Take line 14 to Chatelet and switch to the 4, stopping at St-Michel. From there it is barely a 10 minute walk. This will save you the hassle of changing too many times.

Gare de l’Est or Gare du Nord: Take the 4 to St-Michel and walk 10 minutes to hotel OR take it Odéon and switch to 10 and get off at Maubert-Mutualité to avoid lots of crowds and busy intersections (if it’s raining, for example).