Grand stations. All over the world these places are almost mythical because they are worlds within the world. We walk, see, discover and our hearts always beat faster with the expectation of a voyage. On my way to an early morning flight (RER B line goes directly from Gare du Nord to Charles de Gaulle Airport), my eye caught the 25Hours Terminus Nord. I am a fan of the playful 25Hours hotels and chose those in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt, so it was also interesting to discover the first 25Hours establishment outside of Germany.
When you arrive at 25Hours Terminus Nord in the bustling 10th arrondissement, you just stop and admire the majestic Gare du Nord building across the street. The energy here is unbelievable, like a hurrying anthill, but instant calmness surrounds you when entering the room (ask for a room with a view on Sacré-Cœur). Like an oasis in the middle of a rippling ocean and all you want to do in this moment is sit on the terrace of the room and dive into the book ‘Portraits of the Gare du Nord’ by Alex Toledano. As a bookworm myself, I strongly suggest reading this beautiful big format book as it features amazing stories of the people of the 10th arrondissement, from the gentleman who is unmistakable La Sape (La société des ambianceurs et des personnes élégantes) ambassador to Metin and his brother, who run an experimental cheese shop at Au Coeur Du Marché market. This book is actually the best guide to exploring the 10th arrondissement as not so long ago this quarter was not so much on travelers’ routes apart from the train station, but now it’s becoming more and more artsy. It’s one of those parts of the city you really need to discover layer by layer.
25Hours Terminus Nord is actually a place where you can stop not only for a night to sleep, but also to grab a coffee and work in their coworking area while waiting for the train or enjoy a cocktail at Le Sape bar, while listening to the DJ playing vinyl.
Sacré-Cœur is around a 20 minute walk, Marais can be reached within 30 minutes, and as for me personally, Paris is a city where I get around only by walking and rarely take metro. The location is perfect.
As I travel with my dog, Maxim, I always look not only for pet-friendly hotels (25Hours Terminus Nord is the perfect place to stay with four-legged friends), but green surroundings for our morning runs. We discovered that running along Canal Saint Martin is the perfect start to the morning and especially in the very early hours of morning, when the city is just waking up and you can hear the birds chirping
10th arrondissement might not be love at first sight, but it definitely has its own colourful identity and is turning into a place that people wish to discover more and more, and I’ll definitely be returning.
