Just like its neighbour American Apparel, this fun new bookshop is dedicated to promoting Anglophone culture in Paris. Every book in the store was originally written in English, and the bright space sets up a face-off between its original edition and the French translation. There’s a savvy selection of other products, including cool mugs, notebooks and incense. Plus there’s a good range of children’s books, and a corner for play. The studied disarray of the friendly space puts you at ease, and the enthusiasm of the owner, who left behind an advertising career to follow his childhood dream, warms the heart too. CZ

You could easily miss the entrance to this discreet hotel situated across the road from the BHV and Hôtel de Ville. But don’t be fooled by its unassuming exterior – within lies one of the Marais’ best kept secrets. The smallest room is 35m2, which is bigger than many apartments in Paris. The 30 rooms are beautifully decorated in a charming neo Napoleon III style, and come in 3 grades: standard, superior and duplex, the latter give you all the luxury of a private Parisian apartment. All are clean and comfortable and come with flat-screen TV, double-glazed windows and the 5th-floor rooms even have private balconies. Each floor has a different theme: Venice carnival, French literati, Parisienne chic, whimsical art, and Camden Street. Breakfast is brought up to your room as there is no breakfast room in the hotel, and in fact no communal areas at all. KDG

Three words: cheap and chic. Jean-Paul Gaultier, Kirsten Dunst and Sofia Coppola are huge fans of this place. Rezam, who's been running the store for a decade, caters to vintage mavens and costume designers looking for bargains. Most of the pieces go for 5-20€ a pop. KDG

The brainchild of fashionista Bérénice Bigot (who dresses like she’s straight out of the 40s), the boutique concentrates on designer pieces from the 70s and 80s. KDG

The former Axial Beaubourg has annexed the property next door to give it 19 new rooms and a stylish bar-lounge open to passing Marais hipsters – hence the change of name, though the same helpful team still manages it. If you like contemporary décor in the centre of the action this is the place for you. The hotel is superbly placed for the Marais’ lively bar scene and the Centre Pompidou, and looks like a page from Elle Déco with its giant two-tone lampshades, moss-coloured or Prince-of-Wales check chairs, and library stocked with design tomes. In the new rooms, designer Jean-Phlippe Nuel has combined wallpapers and fabrics in modish brown tones and there are square sinks and flat-screen TVs. A suite has a private courtyard and bath for two. The cheaper old rooms are similar in style but not quite as swanky and new. The place is squeaky clean and a small fitness room and sauna have just been opened.

Be the personal guest of iconic fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa in his magnificent Marais design complex. Three stunning 100m2 apartments, all filled with M. Alaïa’s personal collection of designer furniture, offer more home than hotel, and are personally overseen by the guru himself. In fact, if you look out one of the back windows you may see him working away in his studio out the back. Inside the fully renovated 18th-century building, each extensive two-bedroom apartment has bare concrete floors, top-class Belgian bed linen and a fully equipped kitchen with washer/dryer. Original design masterpieces from icons such as Jean Prouvé or contemporary stars like Marc Newson, Serge Mouille or Jean Nouvel and schmicko mod cons (Bang & Olufsen no less) are complemented by humble touches such as a pair of Havianas thongs in the cupboard for your tootsies.

Owned by the Costes family and designed by Jacques Garcia, this chic boutique hotel is all romance and decadence. Fabulously located in a pretty Marais street, you’re not far from the Pompidou Centre, Place des Vosges and the Picasso Museum. Snuggle up in the cosy, neo-gothic-meets-far-east style, with rich carpets, contrasting colours and sense-assaulting theatrical elegance. This is Paris squishy-chic at its best. Up the tiny, dimly lit winding staircase scented with delicious perfumed candles are a selection of small and comfortable rooms. All are packed with boldly coloured Napoleon III-inspired elements which contrast with the immaculate white, astrakhan fringed beds and black-granite-floored bathrooms. Details such as a Camille Muller designed interior garden and an intimate basement cellar with tables for breakfast or an evening drink just add to the allure.