#amazefesteurope – Paris hostel guide: St. Christopher’s Inn Gare du Nord

Title So when I was looking into accommodations in the city of love, I knew I wanted to stay somewhere nice, since a) Paris is all about romance, and b) I have expensive taste.  Well, since I wanted to keep costs low and hotels in Paris are notoriously expensive (like London), I had to hostel it up.  Luckily, since Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, there are lots of hostel chains that have locations there.

I chose to stay at St. Christopher’s Inn, which has two locations in Paris.  One at 159 rue de Crimée (they call it the Canal location), and another brand-new locale at Gare du Nord (5 rue de Dunkerque).  Both locations looked nice, but since Paris is all about colour and design I stayed at the Gare du Nord location, which was great because it’s literally across the street from the station (which came in handy since it’s an easy train ride from the airport and then I took the Eurostar from the station to London when I left Paris).

St. Christopher’s has locations in 11 cities across Europe.  A hostel staple, every St. Christopher’s location also houses a Belushi bar, where you will find good eats and drinks (with plenty of drink specials).

Okay, so if you know anything about the area that is Gare du Nord station is located in, it’s kind of known as a dodgy neighbourhood, and this is coming from Parisians.  Upon coming out of the station, I was kinda like “where am I?” but honestly, coming from the murder capital of Canada for years in a row, it’s not that bad.  No one came up to me or anything, I just think the area has a bad rap.

St. Christopher’s Gare du Nord is literally a one-minute walk from the station and is also near the Gare de L’est Metro station as well, so if you think about it, it’s a great location because you can take the Metro anywhere.  It’s also a 20-minute walk from the Montmartre district (don’t let the sex shops scare you away!).

The hostel is very modern and definitely has a boutique feel to it.  The elevators to the rooms are located right across from the front desk and they offer a variety of different dorms and private rooms (including female-only dorms).  I stayed in a twin private room, which also had a private bathroom.  Honestly, it was like a hotel.

Room overview Flowers Postcard

My room, located on the fifth floor had two twin beds, a generous-sized washroom with shower, toilet, and sink, as well as a small table, where St. Christopher’s placed some chocolate, fruit, and water bottles for my stay.  I did contact their PR person about staying at this hostel and they actually had a bouquet of flowers waiting for me, as well as a personalized note.  Considering it was a hostel, I was blown away upon entering the room.  Hardwood floors and a full-length mirror?  Yes, please!  This is not your typical run-of-the-mill hostel.

Two beds Wall Lips on bed Washroom Shower

St. Christopher’s offers free WiFi access, bed linen, and best of all, free breakfast, which is served until 10 a.m. (I believe this was the cut off).  The breakfast is served continental-style in the attached Belushi’s bar and consisted of coffee, juice, milk, cereal, baguettes, Nutella, yogurt, granola, cheese, and meat.  Just like at The Generator in London, the breakfast isn’t stellar, but hey, free food?  You can’t say no to that!

Belushis

I think my favourite part of the hostel was Belushi’s bar, which is really big for a hostel bar.  They do offer drink specials and deals for guests of the hostel, including 25 per cent off food, which is a great deal since the food in Paris is pricey.  I had a burger and fries and it was actually pretty good, although the menu is more American than French (whatever, it’s my fave kind of food 😉 ). They also give you a voucher for a free shot with your first drink when you check in.  Other specials included two-for-one mixed drinks and Corona’s, which isn’t that great of a deal because it’s seven euro for one bottle of Corona..  I mean, if you are a guest of the hostel then it’s good cause you are getting two Coronas for 3.50 each, but for me it that was a little much considering how cheap Corona is here in North America.

The hostel also features a chill-out room in the basement (it’s literally like two couches), which also has computer terminals where you have to pay for the Internet (weird, considering the WiFi is free).  The basement also has the locker storage.

Front check in elevator Chill out lounge

Locker storage

Locker storage

Overall, I absolutely loved this hostel and if you are looking for somewhere to stay in Paris, I highly recommend St. Christopher’s Inn Gare du Nord station.  Also, I have to give a shout out to the Scottish guy who works at the front desk (I didn’t catch his name), but he was a wealth of knowledge about the city and gave me some awesome recommendations and tips.  I didn’t get a chance to see the dorm rooms, but I have heard they are super nice and feature privacy curtains, as well as lights and plugs, which as you will learn when it comes to backpacking/hostelling, is a huge factor.

If I’m ever in Paris again, I would stay here in a heartbeat.

Check out their official site for more information and rates, as well as to see photos of the dorms (which also look super nice).

Please note, St. Christopher’s Inn Gare du Nord hosted my stay in exchange for a review.  All opinions are my own (seriously, look at the place! Loved it!).

Like what you read? Check out these related posts.


Sephora.com, Inc.