Almost all the small hotels of Paris are without a dining room. The Degres de Notre-Dame is, however, an exception: it's the kind of family-run establishment well known in the French countryside, but rarely found in the city: a restaurant with rooms. The building is charmingly sited on a little tree-filled square, and the restaurant has the feel of a simple auberge, serving correspondingly rustic food: nothing special, but honest. This is where guests also have breakfast (served at any time) which, assures the cheerful patron, includes the freshest of bread, orange juice squeezed on the spot, and properly made coffee.

A steep wooden staircase (staff carry your bags), decorated with charming murals, leads to the bedrooms, which are good value, well equipped and distinctively decorated, with beamed ceilings, smart wooden furnishings and walls crammed with paintings, reflecting M. Tahir's passion for art. Some rooms have views over Notre-Dame; a few are tiny (it's worth paying 15-euros extra for a slightly bigger room); the ones at the front are the largest, most with triple windows on to the street; No. 24 is handsome, with an expansive desk in the centre; and the huge attic room (No. 501) has been totally revamped, and has an enormous bathroom. Staff are helpful and kind, and reporters appreciate the' relaxed, homely atmosphere'.