Due to the fact they're so inexpensive, Eklo hotels are rarely located in city centers. Not so in Montpellier, where the chain's 10^th establishment opened in November, a stone's throw from the main Saint-Roch train station. Check-in is at the bar. The staff are as cheerful as the guests sitting with friends or colleagues.

As for the bedroom, it's family-friendly: Alcoves perched above the double bed will delight children and adults in search of a regressive cocoon. Everything has been thought of to maximize the comfort of this room, with its laminate flooring, soft mattress and efficient air-conditioning. Small decorative details catch the eye, like the Sammode sconces that resemble a luminous stick caught in a metal mesh, or the vintage Cartel de Belleville chairs.

The raw concrete ceiling still bears the felt-pen markings made when renovating the building, a former 1970s office block. The roundness of a lamp or mirror breaks the boxyness of the lines.

In the common areas on the first floor, the hotel provides entertainment, with karaoke, mini-concerts and salsa classes at weekends. Table soccer, a petanque court and a games arcade complete the offer. The breakfast buffet is very decent, as is the restaurant menu. Rare in Montpellier, a garden promises to be delightful in fine weather. Two olive trees are just beginning to grow on the terrace.

800 meters away: Artistic beauty at your fingertips

The Musée Fabre, founded in 1828, is home to a number of treasures, from Brueghel's village scenes to Soulages' Outrenoirs, including a Blanc by Simon Hantaï, a Crucified Christ by Rubens, a Chauve-Souris by Germaine Richier, striking severed hands and feet by Géricault and an Orpheus by Odilon Redon. Until May 5, the local institution is exhibiting contemporary sculptor Toni Grand, a native of the region.

900 meters away: Discover a ritual pool

Pushing open the door of an old building, at the bottom of a flight of steps, you reach the mikveh, a tiny natural underground pool, constantly renewed by the water table. From the 12^th century onwards, Jewish people immersed themselves in this pool to purify themselves, before a wedding, for example. Witnesses watched the rite from a barred window between the pool and the changing room. The tranquil green water evokes the Jewish presence that was essential to the development of Montpellier's medical university, the first in the West.

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