Le Château de Ligny, 2 Rue Pierre Curie (00 33 327 852 584, www.chateau-de-ligny.fr). Doubles from £85, room only

Best for towering views

Hotel Everland, Paris

You’re not simply a guest at the Hôtel Everland, you’re part of a work of art. It is a capsule hotel-cum-art installation that sits atop the soaring neoclassical columns of the Palais de Tokyo, the 16th arrondissement’s trendy contemporary arts centre. By day, museum goers can tour the suite but, as night falls, you get the panoramic views of a twinkling city skyline, a romantically illuminated Eiffel Tower and a sultry snake of the River Seine all to yourself. It’s a very mod pod, with 1960s-inspired decor and some subversive tendencies (you’re encouraged to steal the gold-embroidered bath towels). Beyond your midget gem, there’s the rest of the collection to explore: an envelope-pushing extravaganza of experimental painting, photography and multimedia exhibits. Afterwards, grab some fresh air in the Bois de Boulogne, a network of winding paths and pretty lakes, tick off the tourist attractions from the top of the Eiffel Tower or pick up a boat and float through the sights, from the Statue de la Liberté to Notre Dame’s gargoyles.

A Rough Guide: the best of France

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the publisher has produced a series of 25 guides to great travel

• Rough Guides: best of Italy

• Rough Guides: best of Spain

BACKGROUND

• The best new French holiday ideas

• Provence’s best kept secret

• A smooth family holiday in Corsica

• Bopping babies in St Emilion

• Having a boule in Provence

BACKGROUND

• Smelly Champagne sausages

• A smooth family holiday in Corsica

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Hôtel Everland, 13 Avenue du Président Wilson (www.everland.ch). Doubles from £238, B&B

Best for history buffs

Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais, Paris

The Hôtel Caron de Beaumarchais, in the cobbled streets of the 4th arrondissement, has been left to steep stylishly in the late 18th century. In one of the candlelit public rooms, an antique card table remains set up for a game of piquet, and the gentle strains of Mozart come from a rare pianoforte. Its 19 bedrooms are quaintly cramped, with worn grey-stone floors, dainty reproduction armoires and floral fabrics. To delve deeper into the tumultuous times it recreates, walk up the rue to No 47, the Maison de Beaumarchais, the former home of playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, who wrote the Marriage of Figaro and the Barber of Seville.

Hôtel Caron de Beaumarchais, 12 Rue Vieille du Temple (00 33 142 723 412, www.carondebeaumarchais.com). Doubles from £90, room only

Best for relaxation

Pol Hotel, Le Touquet

Le Touquet is Paris-on-Sea, a well-heeled town that is home to one of the country’s best thalassotherapy institutes — a place to which the capital’s elegant ladies escape, when in need of TLC, for the benefits of marine minerals in algae wraps, aqua-jet massage and mud baths. Outer glow achieved, take a bracing walk along the seafront to Le Touquet’s first real boutique hotel, the Pol. From chic Belgian interior designer Flamant, bedrooms have muted colours and contemporary furnishings.

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