Rediscover Paris: a cool group and incentive travel destination!
Our clients regularly choose Paris as an (incentive) destination. Furthermore, Paris remains a very important city for our business travel clients. With the Thalys, you can be in Paris in 2.5 hours, and by metro, you're usually at your final or intermediate destination within 20 minutes. This is how we also travelled sustainably to Paris for an inspection again.
Paris has a lot to offer, and when we're there on inspection, we have to make choices. We simply cannot visit all our suppliers. Last weekend we were in Paris again and visited many of our regular suppliers, including the Buddha Bar. The weather was truly beautiful in Paris, which is always a nice bonus. But in addition, we also went off the beaten track again, discovering new places and hidden gems!
Staying in Le Marais
Hotel Le Pavillon de la Reine is such a gem. Located in Le Marais, it's in a beautiful area. When you walk under the hotel's arcade, you'll feel like you're no longer in Paris. The serene peace is overwhelming, and at night, you won't hear honking cars and busy traffic. Furthermore, the service and quality are truly top-notch. We will definitely be using this hotel for future trips. We also had some spare time to rediscover Montmartre. Because once you've seen the Eiffel Tower and all the other beautiful, well-known spots, be sure to choose to visit some other neighbourhoods, like Montmartre or Le Marais.
Wandering through Montmartre
Place du Tertre on Montmartre (the artists' square) is the most famous square in the heart of Montmartre. It's well known for its painters, portrait artists, and silhouette cutters. The streets around Montmartre, however, are often forgotten, and these are actually the nicest streets to wander through. Besides the trendy and lovely Le Marais district (also recommended, by the way), Montmartre is really one of my favourite neighbourhoods. For instance, Vincent van Gogh and his brother Theo lived at Rue Lepic no. 54. They lived there from 1886 to 1888. On Rue de l’Abreuvoir at no. 6 lived the painter Renoir, and at Rue Gabrielle no. 49 lived Pablo Picasso.
Discover the remarkable stories of Montmartre
You will also come across two very beautiful windmills, including Moulin de la Galette. This is one of the two remaining windmills, out of the more than thirty windmills in Montmartre. Limestone, which was excavated here, was formerly ground here. In the early 19th century, the excavations ceased due to the danger of the limestone tunnels collapsing. The hill had (and has) become riddled with holes.
The Windmills of Montmartre
The history of the Moulin de la Galette began in 1814 when the Prussian army besieged Paris and the miller family, the Debroys, were not spared from the war. The son was severely wounded by a bayonet thrust, and the father then shot an officer dead. The miller was consequently murdered and hung in pieces from the mill sails. The wife took her husband down that evening and buried him in Calvaire cemetery. A small mill was placed on the grave, which was deliberately painted red. According to some, this is how the Moulin Rouge got its name.
The son could no longer practise the miller’s trade and converted the mill into a ballroom, where he sold guests a glass of milk with a biscuit. A biscuit in French is "une galette", hence the name for the mill, Le Moulin de la Galette. Very famous guests attended, such as: Manet, Monet, Renoir, Toulouse Latrec, and Van Gogh.
The Martyrs' Hill
A little further on, according to legend, Saint Denis was beheaded in 272 AD. The Roman soldiers were actually supposed to behead him at the top of the mountain, but they got tired and therefore did it earlier. Denis picked up his head, walked to the top of the hill, and continued on his way to the place where the Basilica of Saint-Denis now stands. A walk of no less than 6 km! Hence the name Montmartre, or the martyrs' mountain.
The Tragic Story of Dalida
As you walk along, you'll see beautiful houses on either side, including that of the Italian-French singer and actress Dalida (1933-1987). She was highly successful and, along with Édith Piaf, was considered the most popular and influential French singer of the 20th century. She was less fortunate in her relationships with men. Three men with whom she had an intimate relationship committed suicide. She became exhausted by all her problems and committed suicide in 1987. A few years after her death, “Place Dalida” was solemnly inaugurated, right in the heart of her beloved Montmartre. Dalida became known again in the Netherlands when Mart Smeets, in his programme The Evening Stage, During the Tour de France, the song “Buenas Noches Mi Amor” started playing as the closing theme for his programme.
The pink cottage on the corner of Rue Girardon is also unmissable, so beautiful and also made famous by the painting of Maurice Utrillo.
The wine of Montmartre
What you don't expect is that there's also a vineyard located on Montmartre. They were just bringing in the harvest when we passed by. This is traditionally concluded with great interest with a Fête de Vins. A 5-day village festival where wine flows freely. The wine (approx. 900 bottles per year) produced here is auctioned off with great interest by the mayor of Montmartre! The monetary proceeds are substantial, the wine might be paid for far too expensively, but the money goes to a good cause.
And so we settled down on the Place du Tetre
After enough wandering around Montmartre, we settled down at Place du Tertre (even though it's a bit more touristy here) at one of the outdoor seating areas at one of our favourite restaurants. Once again, it's lovely to be here, recovering after about 20,000 steps that day, with a delicious glass of wine, looking at all the colourful scenes... That's what you call proper enjoyment. Happy and grateful that it's possible again.
Also interested in Paris “off the beaten path” for your next (incentive) trip? We're happy to help you think things through. how to rediscover Paris with your relationships or colleagues!