There are a lot of reasons that I love Paris, and one is that I always know where I’m going to stay when I’m there (plus I love the fact that I can say ‘when I’m there’, as if I go to Paris all the time… which lately has been true. Using Paris as my arrival/departure city for the Camino has it’s perks! Mostly, it’s that I can spend a few days in Paris pre or post trip, because otherwise Paris is rather far from the starting point of most Camino routes… unless I start walking from Paris… which is possible… but I digress).
I stay in a place called Le MIJE, a network of hostels in the Marais district of Paris. The hostels are in renovated 17th century mansions, breakfast is included in the price (which runs from around 30 euros for a shared room to around 55 euros for a single), and the location is, in my mind, perfect. Two summers ago, I stayed in a single room in Hotel Maubisson, and when I opened my window and sat on the very corner of my bed, I could see the spires of Notre Dame. And then I could exit the hostel and be standing in front of Notre Dame in under 5 minutes.
I first stayed at the MIJE back in the fall of 2000, during my college year abroad. So my affection for these hostels stems from great nostalgia: that very first trip to Paris, sharing a room with 5 of my friends, nights racing through the streets of Paris to make the hostel’s 1am curfew, a spiral staircase that led up to my bed, the heavy red curtains, playing UNO late into the night, endless café crèmes and large hunks of bread for breakfast.
It became my go-to place for future Parisian travels that year: when I was a day early to meet my family, when I spent Easter in Paris with my best friend. And, more recently, on my summer trips in Europe: after my writer’s retreat in southern France, the night before I flew back home after my Camino last year.
So naturally, I tried to book a room at the MIJE following my second Camino this summer, when I’ll have two nights in Paris before I return home. But when I tried to make a reservation, I was told that the hostels were full, that no rooms were available.
And I’m at a complete loss. It’s possible that I’ve tried to book too early, I remember something about a 30-day or 45-day or 60-day policy on making reservations, and I can also get more clarification by actually picking up the phone and making a call, rather than using an online reservation form. So I’m not ruling the MIJE out, not yet.
But it leaves me to consider what it would be like to stay in Paris in some place other than the MIJE- with its uneven stairs, squares of pink toilet paper, scratchy red blankets, lukewarm café crèmes. It’s only a hostel, and I’m sure it’s not even the best by most measures and yet… it’s special to me. It’s like this little safe haven, a small place in a large city where I feel secure and comfortable. The three hostels are located close to each other, and I know the neighborhoods around them. I know the closest metro stops, I know the closest Monoprix where I can buy groceries, I know my favorite café where I can sit outside and drink a coffee or a glass of wine and watch people walk by.
I think it’s also that I love that I can say this about a place in Paris, that I can say this about a place in any city, anywhere in the world. Because I don’t have this anywhere else. I’ve lived outside of Philadelphia for 11 years and except for the art museum, I’m not intimately familiar with any part of the city. There’s not a city in the world that I know as well as Paris (although I’m by no means an expert), but this familiarity relies upon being able to return to the places and streets that I can find without a map. I wonder what I will make of Paris if I need to sleep in a hotel or hostel in a different arrondissement. Will it feel like my Paris? Will it change my connection to the city? Will it encourage me to expand my knowledge of the city, to explore different corners, to form new memories and traditions?
It’s a little funny that this is what I’m focused on, as my second Camino approaches. Not the path of el Norte, not whether I have all of my gear or how heavy my pack will be, not whether I need to book a room in Irun or at the end of my walk in Santiago… but my last days in Paris. Maybe it’s because, after my Camino experience last year, I am prepared to embrace the ‘not knowing’ aspect of a Camino. I learned that I don’t actually need a guidebook, I don’t need to have any reservations, I don’t need to have my daily stages planned out. I can just walk, and figure it out as I go.
So maybe I should embrace this same attitude with my days in Paris. I’ll make a reservation somewhere, but I want to try to trust that wherever I stay is where I should be (but I’m still hoping that the MIJE comes through!!).
My husband and I have decided that when we stay in Paris that we will try a different arrondissement each time. So far we have “lived” around the Eiffel Tower, St Germain, and last years wonder, Canal St Martin. All are unique and bring a new flavor to picturesque Paris.
By the way, I’m looking forward to following you on your Camino Norte this year. I also did the Camino Frances last year with a friend and will be this September, taking my husband “up the garden path” on the Norte. Unfortunately this time, we only have a twelve day window to walk between Irun to Santander. Next year we hope to return to either complete the journey or walk the two week Primitivo. So for now I become an armchair fanatic on the back of your blog absorbed in your Norte knowledge.
Buen Camino!
What a good idea, to try different arrondissements each time! Maybe that will a tradition that I begin, as well, especially if my go-to MIJE is booked.
And I’m so glad that you found my blog! I hope to post a lot while on el Norte (although that was my intention in the Frances last year, and I didn’t post nearly as much as I wanted). The Camino really gets it’s hooks in you, doesn’t it? I’ll be looking forward to following your journey, as well!
Loved this post, Deenie. I always like your writing, and I really love this. It reminds me of “Go with God.” …”God’s going to the pool.” 🙂 I’ll hope that you get to end up at the MIJE, but knowing that we never did get to go to the pool but still had a great time together, I’m sure wherever this trip does take you, it’ll be great. Also, I LOVE these photos…especially the last one…so beautiful!
Thank you Nika!! You know, your comment had me thinking… if we had actually made it to the pool that day, I’m sure it would have just sort of faded into a forgotten memory. But instead, that day stands out as such a a highlight from my childhood! So even though we didn’t get what we wanted, we still had an amazing time. I think it’s a life lesson that we stumbled on early 🙂
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How odd and wonderful that of all the cities in the world you know Paris–on the other side of the world from your home–more than any other. It’s not like Le Marais is devoid of hostels, so you can probably find another one in the 3rd. Or maybe try somewhere new? On my very last days in Europe at the end of last month I stayed in a beautiful Airbnb in the 19th, near Parc de la Villete, and there’s a great canal nearby that’s perfect for walking next to (in case you feel like you need to do more walking lol).
“Paris is rather far from the starting point of most Camino routes… unless I start walking from Paris… which is possible” – it is indeed my starting point in July! Call me crazy…1800km! When will you be walking the Norte and where is your starting point?
Also – I’ve stayed in many different areas in Paris and am settled at the moment in the 18th. If you want to try somewhere new, there is a beautiful quiet pocket of the 18th on the other side of the Sacre Coeur hill – near the vineyard but a little further west…around Avenue Junot…unsure of accom in the area but check it out! That side of the hill is not as touristy but is still close to the metro (Lamarck-Caulincourt on the 12). There are supermarkets and lots of eateries nearby and a great bakery opposite le Cepage restaurant (try Cepage’s two-person lamb). Even if you don’t stay there, make time for a walk around there rather than tourist Montmartre then head up the hill and read in the sun in the park on rue de la Bonne. It’s right behind Sacre Coeur but often very quiet and lovely.
I love that you are starting your Camino from Paris! That is so awesome!! If you blog about it I will definitely be excited to follow your journey. I’m planning to start the Norte from Irun, mid/late June, so it looks like that will be well before you. If I find any great albergues I’ll have to let you know! 🙂
And thanks so much for the tips on Paris, I’m definitely making a note of them for the couple of days I’ll be there at the end of my Camino. I’ve wandered aimlessly around Montmartre before and really love that area, but I’m not sure if I’ve been to the spot you mentioned… I just may have to check it out!