Two days in eastern Paris from a Nation hostel

Choose a base and decide which day goes first

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Where to stay. JO&JOE Paris Nation is at 59–61 rue de Buzenval. Save Buzenval for the final metro leg and Nation for the larger interchange, depending on where you are coming from. For one traveler, compare the available shared dorms. If three of you want a bathroom for the group, the operator’s Double XL has a double bed and a single bunk. That layout gives you two sleeping surfaces, so choose another category if all three people need a separate bed. View JO&JOE Paris Nation room options on Expedia. The JO&JOE property guide has more on the room and metro approach.

A Belleville address puts the hill and the evening meal closer. It adds a southbound trip for the Aligre and Porte Dorée day. For a hostel choice driven by women-only accommodation, read the Paris women-only hostel and female dorm guide. The two sightseeing days still work from either base. The Paris neighborhood guide helps compare how often you expect to come back to your room during the day.

Day one, Père Lachaise and Belleville

Start at the cemetery gate that suits your walk

Admission to Père Lachaise is free. For an independent walk focused on the upper cemetery, start at Porte Gambetta, 55–57 rue des Rondeaux, and save the city’s map before you go. For a shorter approach from Métro line 2, use Porte Principale on boulevard de Ménilmontant, which the city lists near Philippe Auguste or Père-Lachaise stations. The two entrances put you at different ends of the grounds. Check the city’s current hours and weather notices on the day.

Give yourself about two hours if you want to see several sections at an unhurried pace. From the upper entrance, a self-guided route can pair the Gassion-Piaf family grave with the Mur des Fédérés memorial and the monuments nearby. Mark them on the city map before you enter. Then choose whether to descend toward the boulevard or return through Gambetta. The terrain can be uneven, with old paving, dirt paths and narrow sections. If mobility is a factor, use the city’s access information to choose a gate. The Amandiers and Réunion gates involve stairs.

From Nation, Métro line 2 toward Porte Dauphine serves Philippe Auguste and Père-Lachaise. For the upper entrance, continue to Gambetta on line 3 or use the bus stop that best fits your starting point. The station called Père-Lachaise serves the boulevard side, so use the gate address as the destination when you want to start higher up. After the walk, check which gate you are closest to before planning the trip to Belleville. Ending near the boulevard makes line 2 the simplest connection to Couronnes. Ending at Gambetta may make a bus or a street-level walk more convenient.

A local guide makes sense when you want context for the memorials and a route that connects several graves in one visit. Follow the meeting point in the confirmation. A tour can start outside a different metro station from the entrance you would choose independently. Leave enough time after the tour to reach Belleville before any lunch plans. For a self-guided visit, pick a small group of graves or memorials and enjoy the streets and avenues between them. This is a working cemetery, so leave space for families and services.

Follow the hill to a view and a meal

After leaving the boulevard side of the cemetery, head north along boulevard de Ménilmontant or take line 2 toward Couronnes. Use the rue des Couronnes side of Parc de Belleville if you want to approach from below. For a visit that starts closer to the viewpoint, map an approach to rue Piat from the upper streets and work back down. The park is steep enough that the entrance you choose changes the feel of the afternoon. Check gate hours, especially if you are trying to catch the last light of a winter day.

Build lunch around the direction you are walking. If you have gone up first, eat after descending toward rue de Belleville and the streets around the Métro station. If you are hungry after the cemetery, stop below the park and treat the climb as a later decision. Take a look at rue Dénoyez if it is on your way. The walls change, and a short detour leaves room to enjoy the park even if you lingered in the cemetery. The official tourist office has a longer walk through the upper Belleville streets.

Day two, the market and the old railway

Buy lunch at Aligre while the outdoor market is open

Start around place d’Aligre in the 12th. The outdoor Marché d’Aligre spreads onto rue d’Aligre, while the covered Marché Beauvau has its own hours. The city schedules the market Tuesday through Sunday, with different hours for the indoor and outdoor sections. If shopping is part of the plan, go in the morning and verify the exact schedule for your day. On a Monday, use a bakery or grocery stop and keep the rest of the walk.

Buy food you can carry and eat without utensils you do not have. For two people, something from a bakery, a few pieces of fruit and a filling you both want is easier to manage than several items that need refrigeration. Ask for a portion you can finish if you do not have a fridge at the hostel. Keep whatever you plan to eat most delicate at the top of your bag. If it is too wet to sit out, eat near Aligre and give yourself a lighter bag for the walk.

Walk from the viaduct to Jardin de Reuilly

From Aligre, go toward the Bastille end of the Coulée Verte René-Dumont. The first section runs above avenue Daumesnil on the old railway viaduct. Look for the rue de Lyon entrance behind Opéra Bastille. The city lists elevators at 34 rue de Lyon and on rue Jacques-Hillairet for the Bastille-to-Reuilly section. Check operation and gate hours before relying on them. The street-level walk along avenue Daumesnil is an alternative if the elevated path is shut or getting up to it is inconvenient.

At Jardin de Reuilly-Paul-Pernin, decide how much more walking you want. The bridge and garden make a natural pause if you brought lunch. For a shorter morning, come down here and return toward Nation or continue to Daumesnil for the metro. If the weather holds, follow the path east through the later rail corridor. The route changes from an elevated garden to passages closer to and below the surrounding streets. Leave room for detours or closures instead of promising yourself a particular arrival minute at the far end.

Finish at Porte Dorée, or use it as the rain plan

The Palais de la Porte Dorée is near Porte Dorée station on Métro line 8. Pick the National Museum of the History of Immigration if you want the afternoon centered on exhibitions, or the Tropical Aquarium if that is the better fit for your group. Each can be the main stop on its own. The venue closes on Mondays and certain holidays, and the last access is before closing time. Check the official visitor page for current hours, ticket choices and the accessible entrance.

If rain moves in during the first day, put Belleville and the cemetery on the clearer day and take the metro to the Palais. On a Monday, when both the market and the Palais are closed, shorten the outdoor loop to a segment near a metro stop and keep a café break nearby. A plan that can shrink to a single neighborhood is easier to enjoy than trying to reach the far end of a long walk in wet shoes.

Make the two days fit your hostel stay

Bring shoes that can handle cemetery cobbles and sloping streets. An umbrella can be enough for an afternoon around the market, while heavy rain or strong wind can affect park and cemetery access. Keep the gate and station names saved on your phone. If elevator availability or a continuous step-free route matters, check the full chain from the metro platform to the garden or cemetery gate. The presence of an accessible entrance does not tell you what each street or path is like.

Plan your evenings around the areas where the walks end. Belleville is a good place to eat after the park and before returning to your base. For the second evening, take a break around Nation before deciding whether to go back toward Bastille. If you have an early departure, return directly to the hostel after dinner and pack before bedtime. See the Paris early-flight guide for the separate CDG and Orly options, or the late-arrival and luggage guide if you plan to do either half-day before check-in or after checkout.

For a first visit with three days, keep one for the Seine and historic center. The Marais afternoon walk works well as that third day. Its squares and streets give you a different experience from Belleville’s slopes and the 12th arrondissement’s old railway. If you only have a weekend and are staying near Buzenval, pick the two east-side mornings and leave one evening for the center if you still have the energy. The Paris sightseeing guides bring the east-side plan together with the Marais and Montmartre walks.