Les Bargain Beds

24 Rue Lamarck, 18th arrondissement. Metro: Lamarck Caulaincourt. Rates about $106, including breakfast. Info: 011-33-1-4264-7922.

Rue Mouffetard/ Place d'Italie

• Residence Hoteliere Le Vert Gallant

This 15-room hotel, which lies west of Place d'Italie and south of Les Gobelins, has kitchenettes in some rooms, so guests can save on dining out by stocking their cupboards and fridges. But after sampling the Pays Basque cuisine of the adjacent L'Auberge Etchegorry, run by hotel proprietors Monsieur and Madame Laborde, you may forget about cooking in your room. (And as authors Victor Hugo and Chateaubriand did here, you might be inspired to sing a few songs.) The unassuming but clean rooms wrap around a peaceful green space. Plus, for a fee, the hotel has private parking -- unheard of at this price.

41-43 Rue Croulebarbe, 13th arrondissement. Metro: Les Gobelins or Corvisart. Rates about $108-$110. Info: 011-33-1-4408-8350.

• Port-Royal Hotel

The immaculate Port-Royal is well maintained by the Giraud family. Most of its 46 rooms were recently refurbished with modern but tasteful wrought-iron beds, mirrors and armoires. The lobby is impressively outfitted with antiques, and metal patio chairs and a parasol await in the interior courtyard. The hotel is in a lively neighborhood at the southern edge of the Latin Quarter and is a short walk to the Rue Mouffetard street market. No room TVs and no credit cards accepted.

8 Blvd. de Port Royal, 5th arrondissement. Metro: Les Gobelins. Rates about $59-$107. Info: 011-33-1-4331-7006, www.portroyalhotel.fr.st.

Eiffel Tower/Trocadero

• Hotel du Champ de Mars

Colorful, lively and Provencal-themed, the 25-room hotel is named for the nearby park that spreads out from the Eiffel Tower at the edge of the tony 7th arrondissement. Stephane and Francoise Gourdal, along with their dog Chippie, run what feels like a country inn. Each room is named for a flower and has wall stenciling and floral prints. Ask for Lilas (No. 4), which opens directly onto a private, flower-filled courtyard. The Rodin Museum and the Hotel des Invalides are nearby.

7 Rue du Champ de Mars, 7th arrondissement. Metro: Ecole Militaire. Rates about $86-$198. Info: 011-33-1-4551-5230, www.hotel-du-champ-de-mars.com.

• Hotel Au Palais de Chaillot

Few budget hotels exist in this part of town, and even fewer are more eager to please than Cyrille Pien's 28-room Palais de Chaillot, which puts most three-star properties to shame. Why? Well, there's the receptionist who speaks five languages; a sidewalk terrace for breakfast or afternoon drinks; soundproof rooms in sunny Mediterranean colors with huge beds; laundry service; and a food delivery deal with local eateries. Completely remodeled, the hotel has contemporary character with a classy 1930s feel.

35 Ave. Raymond Poincare, 16th arrondissement. Metro: Trocadero. Rates about $141-$166. Info: 011-33-1-5370-0909, www.chaillotel.com.

B&Bs

For an alternative to the standard hotel experience, consider the urban B&B. Only a couple of services and individuals offer up chambre d'hôtes in Paris. The U.S.-based Paris B&B & Apartments (800-872-2632, www.parisbandb.com) offers rooms in private homes at rates between $90 and $185, depending on location and facilities, and including breakfast, taxes and service charges (there is a three-night minimum stay). In Paris, Alcove and Agapes acts as a liaison between visitors and more than 100 Parisians who rent rooms in their apartments or homes (a two- or three-night stay is often required). Potential guests fill out questionnaires to select their ideal neighborhood, type of accommodation and any other preferences, such as non-fumeur (no smoking). Rates are about $86 to $147, with breakfast. Info: 011-33-1-4485-0605.

Ethan Gilsdorf, a Paris freelancer and hotel writer for Fodor's Paris guidebook, will be online to discuss this story Monday at 2 p.m. during the Travel section's regular weekly chat on www.washingtonpost.com.

Details: Paris Hotel Tips

RATES: Room rates tend to descend as you leave the city center (arrondissements 1 through 8) and head into the 9th through 20th arrondissements. In the off-season (mid-July, August, November, early December and late January), prices can also be considerably lower.

MEALS: Most Paris hotels charge extra for breakfast. At budget hotels, a continental breakfast of pastries, bread and coffee, tea and juices costs about $7 to $10. Some hotels offer more elaborate buffets with cereal, fruit, cheese, meat and eggs for a bit more. Beyond breakfast, hotels don't normally have in-house restaurants serving lunch or dinner.

SERVICE AND AMENITIES: While the bar for service and amenities in Paris has been raised considerably in the past decades, some unavoidable idiosyncrasies may still irk the average American traveler: rooms and beds that are smaller than the U.S. standard; cramped bathrooms with bathtubs instead of stand-up shower stalls, and often hand-held sprayers with no curtains; and shared toilets or bathrooms for a hotel's cheapest rooms. Ask what facilities you are getting when you book a budget hotel. And if you're unhappy with your room, ask to see another.

-- Ethan Gilsdorf