A Day Trip To Montmartre, Paris - From London by Eurostar

We travelled on Sunday, Mother’s Day, boarding the Eurostar at St Pancras's International Terminal  in London at 8.20 a.m.

Naturally, just like an airport, you have to go through check in, putting your baggage through x-ray and showing your ticket and passport.  But of course there isn’t the waiting around and long queues that you inevitably experience at the airport.

As it was a special treat we travelled Club Class, but I have travelled in the normal Eurostar carriages when I went to Lille (another possible day trip) and they are really comfortable.  In Club Class your ticket price includes food - our breakfast was coffee, brioche, orange juice, jam, etc  - the whole works. 

Since it was my treat I had the lovely privilege of choosing where to go and what to do.  I chose to spend the whole day in Paris's artists' quarter,  Montmartre - after all, Paris is a big city and it’s impossible to cover everything in one day.  Plus a vital factor was my feet -  which don’t serve me quite so well these days! 

In addition, Montmartre seemed to have something for everyone to enjoy, not just moi!  And I had never been to this part of the great city before.

So, when deciding on a day in Paris think about your physical fitness, your specific interests and how much time you have.  

For example, distance walking is a problem for me - but I am good at climbing hills which is handy, as Montmartre is very hilly.  Also, I am interested in art!   So Montmartre  was ideal for me.  It’s quite small with a very village-like atmosphere, but packed full of interesting shops, bars, cafes,  art history and buzzing with people - just very alive! 

When we arrived at the Gare du Nord train station, we hailed  a cab to the Moulin Rouge, but the metro Blanche on the Boulevard de Clichy will drop you right outside too.

This is the red light district with lots of sex shops and night clubs.  As long as you go up the hills you will be in the heart of  Montmartre, and the famous white Basilica of the Sacred Heart will be impossible to miss.

We climbed the first hill across the road from the Metro Blanche and were immediately confronted with gorgeous pastry and pie shops.  It was culturally delicious to have been in London a couple of hours ago, and now to be in Paris! 

The cobbled streets were buzzing with tourists and regulars, the narrow side streets looked tempting - but coffee was desperately needed! 

So, onwards and upwards pausing now and again to make a note of the delicious cheese shops, the bakeries, little design shops, the wine outlets!

Carrying on up the winding paths we came across one of the many street entertainers working in Montmartre.  In this case the boys above were very accomplished musicians who played Latin music whilst later on we came across  the lady below who sounded like Edith Piaf!

And outside the Basilica  we would come across a very talented boy doing amazing tricks with a simple football against a stunning Parisian backdrop. 

The standard  of street entertaining is good and the crowds were generous with their applause (and money!).

Just below the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur in the Place du Tertre,  the street artists of Montmartre set up their easels and ply their trade vigorously!  Before you know it they will have you seated before them and be sketching your portrait in chalk, crayon, pencil - even a black cut-out silhouette can be yours to take home!

There are the usual views of Paris too, and the art ranges from dubious to flashes of originality and now and again, brilliance.  

The place is buzzing, the portrait artists are extremely busy and there’s even a chap with a beret playing the accordian! 

This famous white  Parisian landmark provides a stunning view of Paris.  

The interior of the Sacre-Coeur is very beautiful and serene and here we sat down to take the weight off our feet and to be still.

There is also, nearby, the Church of St Pierre. Whilst the Basilica is about one hundred plus years old, this Church of St Pierre  is amongst  Paris’s oldest. Parts of it date from Roman times.  Legend has it that the famous Italian author, Dante, came here to pray.

Below is the view of Paris from the Basilica.   If you look carefully at this photograph you can see the young boy I mentioned before, on the left, demonstrating his football abilities whilst jumping around on a plinth!

By now we were getting hungry - so time to find somewhere to eat.

We made our way back through the artists’ square and found those familiar steps that are often seen in films and photographs.  There is also the choice of taking the funicular (or elevator type train) if you prefer. This is a great option if you have difficulty going up and down stairs.

Talking of which, I forgot to mention that there is also a little white train that will take you round Montmartre. Although some people scoff at this mode of transport, I think it's brilliant if you have tired, bad-tempered children (or anyone!) in tow or if you are finding it hard to walk around all those cobbled streets. I would definitely take one without hesitation if I needed to.

But back to that important issue of lunch!

Eventually, after rejecting one after another of the various bistros,  we found one  where my son had the best onion soup he'd ever tasted -  I think we gals wished we’d ordered it.  Our steaks were good though and the wine superb! And the waiter was very nice...

I couldn't tell you where this lovely little bistro was as we just stumbled around and it appeared - but there seems to be plenty of choice.  Just wander about until a particular place looks popular and you can spot what people have on their plates!  If you like it - then go for it!

We then made our way back to the  famous steps and carried on along the bottom of the gardens below the Sacre-Coeur.  Here was a pretty double-decker roundabout - and just round the corner in the Rue de Ronsard, there is a warehouse with an art gallery, nice cafe and library and excellent toilets!  We stopped off here for a while.

Now, if you love dressmaking, or any kind of home sewing there is a place just over the road from the  gallery called Marche St Pierre.  It’s a big, multi-level fabric warehouse which houses an amazing variety of fabrics in all colours and designs from all over the world. Apparently, it's  heaven-on-earth for sisters (or brothers) who stitch. 

Unfortunately it is closed on Sundays - but I am seriously thinking of coming back in the future,  during the week,  just to browse.  This area of Montmartre is the fabric district and this blog will give you some information about Marche St Pierre and other outlets. 

Such a laid-back, relaxing day and already it was getting on for 5:00pm.  The time seemed to have gone by so quickly. But our train didn’t leave until 8:00, so we strolled back down the hill, stopping off at those cheese, sweet and pastry shops to stock up!

Once back at the Moulin Rouge we impulsively  took a cab down to the Champs Elysee.  This is where the Tour de France ends, and my son, who is a keen cyclist, was happy to see the roundabout where the racing cyclists come hurtling  round at speed before belting up the great, wide avenue to the Eiffel Tower.

After walking along the Seine for a while we had time for a leisurely cup of coffee outside a bar before hailing a taxi to take us back to the Gare du Nord.

The Lou Reed song says it all really.  It had been ‘a perfect day’.  It’s not often we can all get together like this - our lives are busy - so this was very special.

The train pulled out, our food was served, and as the sun set across the darkening suburbs of Paris we ordered wine, sat back in our seats and reflected on how lucky we were to live in such close proximity to the most romantic city in the world.

Some Useful Details

• To find out about day trips, or longer, to Paris by Eurostar you can visit the Eurostar website here.
• Another useful website dedicated to train travel across Europe and beyond is The Man is Seat Sixty-One  which is an absolute mine of information for those who love train travel.
• I found Matt Barrett’s webiste,  Travel Guide to Montmartre  really useful.  It will tell you about many of the things we didn’t have enough time to do and in a friendly, insightful manner too.