Basin de la Villette. Paris Tourist Office/Marc Verhille
The northeastern side of Paris is unknown to most visitors. Far from the center and not packed with 'must-see' monuments, this area is doesn’t make it onto many agendas. That’s a shame, because the 19th arrondissement is filled with lovely things. The wild and hilly Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is here, along with the Parc de la Villette and its many concert venues, film festivals, and exhibitions. But my favorite place to spend time is along the water.
As the Canal St. Martin travels north from trendy area around Chez Prune, it widens into the Bassin de la Villette. The area around the Bassin has transformed dramatically in recent years and now hosts a pair of charming movie theaters, the northern satellite of Paris Plages, and a slew of cafés and restaurants.
St. Christopher’s Inn
It also has beds – many beds. In recent months, two new options for accommodation have sprung up along the water. The first to arrive was St. Christopher’s Inn, the “most modern backpackers’ hostel in Paris.”
This brand-spanking new facility on 159 rue de Crimée makes backpacking easy by offering free wifi and organizing pub crawls and bike rental.
Most importantly (although this isn’t written in their brochure), the location affords access to Bar Ourcq, one of the coolest places in town. The area in front of Bar Ourcq is on warm evenings filled with hundreds of young people who gather to picnic and play pétanque.
It’s exactly the kind of crowd that most young travelers are hoping to find, and they’re sitting just outside the hostel doors waiting to be chatted up. Prices, as you’d expect, are low at the hostel. They vary according to the day, but a bed in a 10-person dormitory generally runs about 30€ per night, and a private room with double bed & bath is 45€ per person (90€ total).
Holiday Inn Express
Those looking for something less youthful than a hostel need only walk around to the back of the building where a new Holiday Inn Express has just opened on 68 Quai de la Seine. I have great reservations in writing about a chain hotel (as does my Editor Louise), but this honestly isn’t a bad option for Paris. Here’s why:
The view from these rooms is incredible. Inside the rooms are (boring) corporate chic with flat screens and free wifi, but open the curtains and you’re gazing out over houseboats and old men playing pétanque. At ground floor, the hotel terrace is right on the water and not a bad place to take your morning coffee. Rooms run 120-160€ per night with breakfast included.
For those with reservations about staying “so far away,” Métro line 7 from Crimée is quick shot into the center city with stops at many popular tourist destinations. Line 5 from Laumière travels to Republique and Bastille, while line 2 from Jaurès will take you to Père Lachaise, Montmartre, and the Arc de Triomphe. Excellent Métro access will enable you to cross those monuments off your list, but at the end of the day you’ll be happy to return to your waterbed in this great and still undiscovered neighborhood.