The most romantic hotels near the Seine

The Seine divides Paris into left and right banks, and the distinction matters more than geography. The Left Bank (Rive Gauche) — Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Latin Quarter, Saint-Sulpice — retains a literary, intellectual identity that the Right Bank largely traded for commerce and tourism some decades ago. For romantic stays, the Left Bank generally wins.

The stretch along Quai Voltaire and Quai Malaquais offers some of the most coveted hotel views in Paris: the Louvre directly across the river, Notre-Dame visible to the east, the Pont des Arts in the middle distance. These properties are expensive and in several cases historic — the Hôtel du Quai Voltaire has been receiving writers and artists since Baudelaire and Wagner stayed there in the nineteenth century.

For those whose definition of romantic includes the word "affordable," the streets slightly back from the river in Saint-Germain and the 6th arrondissement contain some of the best value boutique hotels in Paris. The rooms are typically small by international standards — this is not a criticism but a fact of Paris hotel architecture — but the quality of the light, the neighbourhood and the breakfast more than compensate.

One genuinely underrated option: the Île Saint-Louis. The smaller of Paris's two central islands is quieter, less touristed and has a handful of small hotels that offer the experience of sleeping in the middle of the river without the Île de la Cité's visitor density. Berthillon ice cream, considered by many to be the best in Paris, is made on the island.