Our first trip together to Paris

Every year in March, around my birthday, we usually go to Knokke in Belgium. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, that wasn’t possible this year. So I suggested a long weekend in Paris instead. I’ve been there many times, and luba had only been once but she was excited to go again.

Coincidentally, I received an email newsletter offering a hotel in Montreuil, just a few kilometers from central Paris. We booked a nice room for May 16–19 (via Booking.com) and also bought train tickets.

Day 1

We dropped off Bogdan at his lodging around 8:30 in the morning, parked the car at luba’s work, and took the tram to The Hague Central Station. We grabbed some coffee and then took the train to Rotterdam Central Station. There, we had a layover of about 40 minutes before boarding the train to Brussels.

In Brussels, we waited for about 20 minutes and then boarded our final train. From that moment on, it truly felt like our little holiday had begun.

We arrived at Gare du Nord around 14:10, bought metro tickets to Montreuil, and half an hour later we were in our hotel room. Montreuil is a charming area with few tourists, which we really appreciated. It’s only a few kilometers from the city center, and the metro system is easy to navigate. I recommend downloading the Bonjour RATP app, it’s great for buying tickets and checking metro, bus, and tram schedules.

Later, we took a walk around the neighborhood, and luba found a nice pair of secondhand Italian heels, they looked fantastic. We stumbled upon a local food market and, right next to it, discovered a cozy French restaurant. I made a reservation for that evening.

Dinner at the restaurant was excellent. We started with foie gras, followed by lamb for luba and an amazing steak for me. I also tried my first French Coca-Cola! Around 22:00, we headed back to the hotel, tired but happy, and quickly fell asleep.

Day 2

We had breakfast around 08:30, and it was surprisingly good. After eating, we took the metro and headed toward the Louvre. Once we got there, it was incredibly crowded, so I suggested we visit the Musée d’Orsay first and explore the city center afterwards.

We spent a good two hours in the Musée d’Orsay, definitely worth the ticket price. For me, the highlight was the painting featuring Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud. After the museum, we made our way to the city center and stopped for coffee, which, unsurprisingly, was ridiculously expensive.

We then found a small park where we had lunch with sandwiches we’d bought earlier that morning from a local boulangerie. We had a bit of fun feeding the birds, and at one point they even started eating out of my hand.

After lunch, we walked around some more and visited a church where we came across an old Orthodox icon (see photo). It was a lovely little find.

Back in Montreuil that evening, we had dinner at a budget-friendly restaurant. It wasn’t quite the same quality as the place from the night before, but it wasn’t bad either. Later, we watched the Eurovision Song Contest and eventually fell asleep. All in all, a good day.

Day 3

Sunday, a perfect day to visit Cimetière du Père-Lachaise. luba really enjoyed it. We even came across the grave of a Russian family, and of course, we visited the graves of Chopin and Jim Morrison.

Afterwards, we took the metro and had lunch near the Eiffel Tower, once again enjoying the fun of feeding the many birds. Then we caught a bus to the Louvre, where I had already bought tickets online the night before, so thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long to get in.

We spent a few hours wandering through the Louvre, taking in the art and the atmosphere. Later, we hopped on the metro to visit the 18th arrondissement, also known as Montmartre. We had a couple of drinks there but decided not to stay for dinner, it was packed with tourists, and we wanted something a bit more relaxed.

Before leaving Montmartre, we stumbled upon a charming little flea market, which was a pleasant surprise. Back near our hotel in Montreuil, we found another nice restaurant for dinner, followed by some drinks at a local bar.

It was a long but really good day.

Day 4

Already the last day, damn! We got up fairly early, had breakfast, and checked out of the hotel. By the way, the name of the place was ibis Styles Paris Mairie de Montreuil, an affordable, comfortable, and definitely recommended.

Since we had some time before our train, we decided to hang around near Gare du Nord. Then I suddenly remembered Place des Vosges, a charming little park, so we headed there for our final lunch of the trip.

After that, it was time to head back and catch the train home.

Cost of our trip for 2 persons

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