Lavie Maison : Marais & Historic & Central

Push open the door at the back of the cobbled courtyard and the noise of the rue drops away. This was an artist's atelier once. You can still feel it in the ceilings.

The living room opens wide and bright — a long dining table, a fully-kitted kitchen, a sofa bed for a seventh guest. One bedroom holds a double; the other, bunks for three. Self check-in, so arrive when you like.

Step out and you're five minutes from Place des Vosges, ten from the falafel queue on rue des Rosiers. Saint-Paul and Bastille métros sit either side. Sunday mornings belong to the Marché Bastille.

It suits a family with kids, or two couples sharing a long weekend. What stays with you, though, is la cour — that pocket of Parisian quiet, tucked behind one of the loudest quartiers in the city.

Step out and it's rue des Francs-Bourgeois already thinking about lunch — the queue outside Chez Janou never quite forms, the falafel line on rue des Rosiers already does. A woman waters her geraniums two floors up. The Hôtel de Soubise sits behind its gates like it's forgotten the century. Cobblestones, a scooter, the smell of butter from somewhere.

Cut through to place du Marché Sainte-Catherine — a small square set back from the noise, plane trees, five or six terraces facing each other. Come le matin for a coffee before the tables fill; come at 19h and it becomes the closest thing the quartier has to a village. Order the œufs mayo at Le Marché. It's four euros and does the job.