Hotel du Petit Moulin, inside and outside.    (Photo: Courtesy of Hotel du Petit Moulin )

A former seventeenth-century bakery redesigned by Christian Lacroix, the Hotel du Petit Moulin (from $220) has become the epicenter of the trendy north Marais neighborhood. The seventeen rooms are small but make a huge visual impact, mixing polka dots, fuchsia florals, heart-shaped Venetian mirrors, and scenes from outer space. Lacroix himself covered Room 204's walls with his own collages and sketches.

As one of the Left Bank's most chic hideaways Hotel Montalembert (from $450) is a popular choice with visiting fashion editors, who get their pick from 56 recently renovated rooms. Since the hotel's located directly next door to gastro hot spot Atelier Joël Robuchon, you can put your name on the endless waiting list and then take a nap before dinner.

A cheaper, though still stylish, Left Bank alternative is the Hotel La Villa Saint Germain des Prés (from $336), which has standard (i.e., teeny) rooms decorated in browns and crisp white linens. Request something on an upper floor to escape a dawn wake-up call from noisy garbage trucks.

Though now over a decade old, Hôtel Costes (from $400) is still the city's main haunt for models and celebrities. The 82 rooms are done in haute-bordello style, with red brocade walls and black and gold lacquered antique furniture.