Following up on my post below and some excellent responses, my wife and I have decided to spend 4 days in Paris and 4 days in Caen in June, 2013. I'm looking for recommendations of small hotels in Paris - no chains, nothing fancy, but typically French. As long as it is within a couple of blocks of the Metro, we don't really care which Arrondissment - as long as it is relatively safe.

We will be staying at the Hotel du Havre in Caen, where I stayed 40 years ago as a student.

Thanks in advance.

We really liked Hotel d'Varenne when we stayed there in May 2011. Very small, quaint, and in a great location near the Musee Rodin. Breakfast not included in the room price but available in a tiny dining room on the ground floor.
www.varenne-hotel-paris.com

As I have posted before, we really loved Hotel Relais Bosquet in the 7th arrondissment, near Rue Cler. Ecole Militaire metro stop is about one block away. The hotel was charmingly French, the staff was wonderful and so very helpful. We liked being able to stroll down the street to peruse the local market places and we often picked up prepared food from the stands there and took it back to our room instead of eating out every day. There is a patissiere right next to the hotel and the aromas were tantalizing. The hotel clerk taught us how to use the local nearby buses to go all over Paris. We often rode a bus from one end of the line to the other, jumping off whenever we saw something of interest. The Eiffel Tower was about six blocks away. Our breakfast was included in the room rate and everything was so delicious. I would not hesitate to stay here again but I would request the room that has a view of the Eiffel Tower although I was perfectly satisfied with our room. Paris Hotel

Thanks for your responses thus far. Our plan is to find a B&B or similar accompdations in the 100-150 Euro range. We are only going to use the room for sleeping and bathing, so we need nothiong fancy. I very much enjoy speaking French with the owners and refuse to stay in anything resembling American lodging. We want to experience Paris as the Parisians experience it. Not sure if I'll find what I'm looking for at these prices, but it's worth a try.

Sincere thanks for your suggestions.

I am beginning planning a Paris trip myself for the same time period and I am curious where you ended up choosing. We too would like to stay somewhere small and simple. Thanks!

We just returned from a 6 night stay in Paris. We stayed at the Hotel du Nord, 47 rue Albert Thomas, in the 10th arrondisment. I just posted a full review on tripadvisor.com.

The rooms are tiny, but we only paid 84,50 euros/night - and we had a private bath. The neighborhood is very convenient to everything. The staff at the hotel were all very kind and helpful. The hotel does not have A/C, so I would not stay there July-August.

A few years back, we spent a week at the Hotel Abbatial St. Germain...it is just a short walk from Notre Dame, and a pretty easy walk to most things in the center of Paris. It wasn't huge, but when we crawled out the window onto our tiny balcony, we could see the Eiffel tower, so we were pleased. It was our first trip, so everything was great! Don't know if that helps, but it is my 2 cents worth. I am jealous, have a great trip!
Dave

Yes, Thank you both replies were very helpful! I am just in the beginning stages of my planning and I am totally clueless. The idea of having a view of the Eiffel Tower from that area is very exciting! I will look into that. Thank you.