Fodor's Expert Review Hôtel George Sand

This small family-run hotel, where the 19th-century writer George Sand once lived, feels up-to-date, in its own French provencial kind of way, while preserving some of its original architectural details. Set on a small street between Blvd Haussmann and Place de la Madeleine, you'll hardly notice that this is one of the city's most trafficked pedestrian areas, right in the thick of the action. Shoppers will love the location, as will budget travelers, as the prices are quite reasonable for this central area.

YOU SHOULD KNOW Reduced mobility guests may want to ask for a ground-floor room, as the elevator is quite tiny and the stairs narrow and steep.

room

Though more on the traditional side, in nostalgic Provencal-style fabrics and matching wallpapers, rooms are clean and comfortable, with up-to-date amenities, including coffeemakers, minibars, satellite TVs, and complimentary high-speed Internet.

bathroom

Ample modern bathrooms are decked out in yacht-inspired wood flooring, most with shower-in-tub arrangements, and all the amenities.

lobby

A small lobby includes a lounge area with bookshelves overflowing with help-yourself volumes in French and English.

dining

A standard continental breakfast, with hot eggs, is served in the small, tidy breakfast room.

YOU SHOULD KNOW If you don't plan to eat at the hotel you'll find plenty of cafés nearby, but beware on Sundays, when many of the cafés in this mostly commercial neighborhood are closed.