Paris visit April 2026 day 1...part 1.

We started our weekend in Paris by dropping the car at the parking lot at Chatellerault train station before catching our comfortable TGV to Montparnasse. First stop, top up Navigo' pass with metro tickets then taking the familiar trek to line 4 to start our journey.

One change at 'Gare de l'Est and then on to our destination station Laumiere in the 19th arrondissement. We now find navigating the metro system in Paris fairly easy having now had a lot of experience of it, good and bad. Tip: avoid Châtelet – Les Halles if you can!

You definitely know you have arrived in Paris when you are greeted by the classic red metro sign - something intrinsically comforting about them!

We had chosen the 19th as we wanted to revisit Parc des Buttes-Chaumont somewhere we had not been since 2011! Plus also have another look at the Bassin de la Villette which has seen many changes since then.

We had chosen the the unpretentious Ibis Budget Paris La Villette hotel,good value,comfortable and offering very good value breakfast. It proved to be ideal from a location point of view, as it was only 3 mins from Bassin de la Villette,10 mins from Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and a comfortable 1 hour walk to our first planned visit of the trip - the Musée des Arts Décoratifs on Rue de Rivoli.By the time we checked in it was a quick change and about turn back out as we had booked a 5pm time slot for our visit to the museum.

The hotel was on the tree lined Avenue Jean Jaures which afforded us a second metro stop (Jaures) with a number of watering hole options!

We walked on under the raised section of the metro line leading to nearby Stalingrad station past the Rotunda and onto the start of the 

Canal Saint-Martin.

As you step onto the Quai de Valmy you are actually going from the 19th arr. into the 10th.

Looking back towards the 19th arrondissement.

Whether you look towards the canal or the buildings that border it  your eyes will be rewarded.  

We walked along the canal until it heads off left towards the 11th arrondissement where we made a right turn at the popular L'Atmosphère restaurant onto Rue Lucien Sampaix.

Then it was onto Rue des Vinaigriers and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin,passing the Mairie of the 10th on the way down to Porte Saint-Martin.

Then over to Porte Saint Denis and onto the long rue de Clery which took us into the 2nd arrondissement and closer to our our destination.

Rue de Clery leads onto Rue du Mail from where we went around behind the Jardin du Palais Royal and past the Pl. Mireille into the 1st arrondissement.

We arrived on rue de Rivoli with just enough time to partake of a wee refreshment at Café Carrousel on Pl. des Pyramides with a view of the golden Joan on her horse

Next stop was our final destination '1925-2025 – One Hundred Years of Art Deco' at the Museum of Decorative Arts.