Run by affable Breton Patrick, this perennially popular independent hostel has 24 beds and a fun, friendly vibe, with no curfew and just a minimal summertime lockout.

This place is in an ultra-convenient location a block and a half from the promenade des Anglais and the beach, with Nice's old town and the station a 10-minute amble away.

The slightly more sophisticated sister of the Hotel/Hostel Meyerbeer Beach, these are the closest dorm beds you'll find to the beach, literally one-minute's walk away. And, you're just a couple more minutes' walk to the bars and cafes of the old town.

Yes, yes, yes! This fabled independent hostel in a lovely old monastery sprawled in leafy gardens is absolutely worth the circa 3km trip from the city centre, with beautiful dorms and private rooms inspired by French writers and artists, and fantastic common areas.

Owner Jean-Marie Martinez (who speaks no less than six languages) lives in this rambling old apartment building, and shares his convivial dining table, books and classical music with his guests.

If it were possible to list any more 'author's favourites', this charming family-run hotel occupying one floor of a character-filled building, reached by a spiral staircase, would definitely be up there.

The homey and unpretentious Lépante is housed in a landmark 1915 belle époque building, with 27 air-conditioned rooms renovated in a palette of Provençal colours.

Secluded from the street, but right in the city's heart, following the rustic driveway from av des Fleurs brings you to this dove-white, triple-decker freestanding pavilion set in fountained gardens.

An intimate little gem, the Villa la Tour nestles within the walls of an 18th-century convent with exquisite rooms and a coveted location as the only hotel inside Nice's enticing old town.

How many inner-city hotels can boast their own botanic garden? This pale orange townhouse with leaf-green shutters also has 38 pretty Provençal rooms, as well as regional Provençal plants.

The Hôtel Les Cigales, whose name translates to 'the cidadas', is a cheerful little boutique establishment just a couple of minutes' walk from the promenade des Anglais and the beach.

Inside this grand Art Deco building, the Grand Hotel Aston's guest rooms are pretty businesslike, but in summer there's no cooler view across Nice than from its panoramic rooftop swimming pool.

Matisse and Chekhov both stayed at the 1860-built Beau Rivage in its belle époque heyday, but they wouldn't recognise the place after its millennium strip and refit by urban architect/interior designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte, who previously put his stamp on French icons like the...

With corridors painted with Matisse murals and guest room walls and ceilings also adorned with murals, the spiffy little Hôtel du Centre offers fab value for money.

Looking as if it would be more at home on a tree-lined Paris boulevard, this handsome 1892-built cream building with wrought iron balconies and flying a trio of enormous French flags fronts a lush garden with a pond, fountain and elevated marble terrace.

Imagine you're invited to stay with ultra-connected, urbanite friends in downtown Nice at their nightclub-style, futuristic pad designed in part by Philippe Starck. The fun, welcoming vibe at this hi-tech hotel means (for a price!), you are.

The name La Petite Sirène translates as the Little Mermaid, and this neat 16-room place in the city centre has been inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's (not Disney's!) classic tale.

Hôtel Masséna was taken over by new owners M and Mme Leng in 2005 and already the difference is striking. Mme Leng's artistic flair is evident in the first of her elegantly renovated rooms, and ultimately all 111 rooms will be given her designer treatment.

Built in splendorous belle époque style in 1912 and now a protected historical site, the palatial, pink-domed Negresco - dreamed up by Romanian hotelier Henri Negresco; and owned by the same family since 1957 - is not only one of the most famous hotels in France, but anywhere.

Behind the diminutive, discrete front door opening off the pedestrian shopping strip, inside the Hotel Regence opens to a vast, Tardis-like Art Deco reception area and 61 generously-sized, well-equipped rooms.

Within its galleries and museums, Nice harbours some exceptional art. At this boutique hotel you can sleep amongst it too - half of the 57 rooms feature walls of Impressionist murals and the other half are the wonderful and often wacky work of experimental contemporary artists.

Decorated in beautifully patterned and printed linens and furnishings in the colours that inspired the region's famous artists, this boutique hotel's rooms look like they've been lifted from the pages of an interior design magazine.

Poised in the heart of Nice's most elegant boutiques and elongated parks with splashing fountains, a gentle stroll to the promenade des Anglais and the old town, the Le Meurice is fittingly classed as a hotel de charme, with beautifully styled rooms.

Built as a ritzy casino and cabaret venue in the Riviera's roaring '20s halcyon days, only the soaring 1929 colonnaded facade remains, with the otherwise brand new edifice now housing a glam 21st-century hotel and adjoining (but separately run) casino for latter-day Great...

You'll find this gracious 1890s place facing the Albert 1 gardens just moments from the aromatic sights, sounds and scents of the old town and a few short blocks from the beach.

Until 2004 when this gleaming new place opened its doors, Nice's only HI hostel was the seasonally opening Auberge de Jeunesse Mont Alban, 5km (3.1mi) out of town, but now there's a second one right in the heart of the city.

If you've come to Nice to party, this place about 5km (3.1mi) out of town isn't for you (there's now another Auberge de Jeunesse - Les Camèllias; also listed on this site - in downtown Nice). But if you're a hiking, biking kind of hosteller, it might suit you down to the ground.

Step out of the pulsating summer heat and into this minimalist oasis of cool calm serenity, carved out of sleek designer furnishings and the soft hues of stone, wood, pebble and linen in 2004 by urban architect/interior designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Matisse (1916) and Russian...

Front and centre on the pedestrianised shopping strip and just two blocks from the sea, this little hotel has considerable appeal, with balconies set with tables and chairs opening off half the hotel's 14 rooms, including several looking down on the buzzing street below.

The atmospheric Hôtel Belle Meuniere is just a few short steps from the train station and handy for the city centre. Its 17 rooms are large, posh, panelled affairs, and those at the upper end of the price scale come with their own ensuite bathroom.