The lobby and bar are stuffed with movie memorabilia – a cheeky Donald Duck here, a Laurel and Hardy bust there, with posters and cinematic paraphernalia galore. You don’t have to be a film fanatic to enjoy this place, but if that’s what makes your show reel, book a seat now.

And if the 23 rooms pale by comparison, at least they’re clean and simply furnished (but whoever thought drab brown would make a good accent colour should be consigned to the cutting-room floor). Book No.42 at the top – you’ll need some puff to get there (there’s no lift), but you’ll be rewarded with a characterful

refuge under oak-beamed rafters. Fling open the windows for a close-up of the rooftops of Paris.

This is the capital at its most cheap and cheerful, and the 7e’s location – in the heart of the trendy Marais district – makes this a fab French connection.

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• Three Paris hotels for romance

Film fan or no – this is a steal.

Hôtel du 7e Art (00 33 144 548500, www.paris-hotel-7art.com) has doubles from £64, room only.

£120 - Hôtel Saint Merry

‘You feel you’re in church – which you are’

You might feel like falling to your knees in prayer when you get to your room in this bijou B&B near the Pompidou. You wouldn’t be the first. It used to be the presbytery of the Saint Merri Church next door, and there’s a distinct whiff of the religious in the air.

Elaborately carved woodwork, pulpits, pews and a confessional conspire to create a hushed cosy reverence – a heavenly haven, where whispering feels de rigueur.

It’s a complete Gothic fantasy – all 12 rooms have been lovingly restored with authentic period furniture. Even the carpets have an ecclesiastical motif. And if you feel like you’re in church, in room nine (pictured) you really are – the stone arches from Saint Merri butt into it so you sleep virtually in the lap of God.

If you can’t stand the thought of all that weighing you down, gasp your way up to the fourth floor (no lift here either), and gasp again at the sheer loveliness of the suite beneath the sloping roof. It’s perfect for romance, but sleeps five (and you can bring the dog, too).

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