Hôtel Les Jardins du Luxembourg

Just around the corner from its glorious namesake and down the street from the university, these intimate lodgings are tucked away on a quiet impasse, making it a favorite with the professorial crowd. The building’s claim to fame is that Sigmund Freud stayed here on his first visit to Paris. The 1940’s look of the lobby and reading lounge invites deep reflection, or at least a nice rest in one of the plush armchairs. While the standard rooms are quite pretty, with curly wrought-iron headboards and puffy comforters, the superior rooms, which cost only a few euros more, have nicer views, small balconies, snazzy bathrooms, and designer fabric–covered walls.