Lavie Maison Petite Studio

Twelve square metres, a mezzanine tucked under the eaves, and morning light through opaque-filmed windows that keep the street at arm's length.

The kitchenette runs full-service — oven, dishwasher, kettle, coffee machine — and the sleeping nook sits above it, reached by a steep little ladder. Wine glasses in the cupboard. A proper desk if you need one.

Outside the door, SoPi: rue des Martyrs and its cheesemongers, the late lights of Pigalle, Opéra Garnier a walk away. Coffee at KB CaféShop on rue des Martyrs sets the morning.

It's a nid for one, or two who like each other very much. What you'll remember is the mezzanine — the small ceremony of climbing up to bed in the 9e.

Step out onto rue des Martyrs and it's already moving — the fromager pulling down his awning, the flower stand outside Arnaud Delmontel, a queue at the boulangerie that never quite disappears before ten. South, the street tips down toward Notre-Dame-de-Lorette in a slow gradient; north, it climbs into the older Pigalle of neon signs and shuttered cabarets waking up late.

For le matin, KB Caféshop at the top of avenue Trudaine — order the filter and take it to the benches on the square Alex-Biscarre, a small green pocket behind the church where locals bring their dogs and Le Monde. It's the version of the quartier the guidebooks tend to miss, and the one l'équipe sends guests to first.