Lavie Maison: Equipped Studio, Chartrons

Twelve square metres, and the morning starts with the hiss of the coffee machine and light coming in from a single window onto the rue.

The studio is compact and considered: a proper double bed, a small kitchen with hob, oven and dishwasher, and fast Wi-Fi when you need to disappear for an hour. Air conditioning in summer, and pets are welcome if you tell us first.

Chartrons is the old wine-merchant quarter, now full of antiquaires and natural-wine bars. Walk five minutes to the Sunday marché des Quais along the Garonne, then back via rue Notre-Dame for a coffee.

Best for a solo traveller or a couple staying a few nights — or longer, since the studio takes well to long stays. You'll remember the quiet, and the river just at the end of the street.

Step out and the limestone façades of the Chartrons run pale and low along the rue Notre-Dame — antique dealers polishing brass in their windows, a wine merchant rolling out crates, the tram bell from the quai a block away. The light here is different from the Triangle: wider, softer, with the river just behind the rooftops.

Saturday mornings belong to the Marché des Chartrons on the quai, between pont de Pierre and the Cité du Vin. Go before 10h for oysters from the Bassin d'Arcachon, a glass of Entre-deux-Mers, and bread from the boulangerie on rue Sicard. L'équipe will tell you which stall does the cannelés properly — small, dark, almost burnt at the edges.