Night train from Paris to Verona

Time: November 2018
Duration: 4 days (Thursday – Sunday)
Budget: ca. € 320
Train Brussels – Paris: € 15
Train Paris – Verona: € 29,99
Hostel (2 nights): € 60
Verona Card: € 20 for 24h (or €25 if you want one for 48 hours)
Flixbus Verona – Milano Bergamo: € 11, 99
Flight Milano Bergamo – Brussels: € 131
Food: € 50

Day 1 – Paris
The IZY train from Brussels to Paris only had space at 8 AM, so I ended up in Paris at 11 AM, having the day by myself to discover the city.
I didn’t see the Eiffel Tower nor the Catacombes, the Louvre or the Pantheon, so I’d say it was maybe a rather unusual visit. But if you have some time left and want to wander around seeing a different side of the city, then follow my lead.

Arriving at Gare du Nord, I took a 10-min metro to Gare du Lyon. This was a bit more in the city center and my train would be leaving from there in the evening, so at least I’d know where to go.
Grom Gare du Lyon I crossed the bridge and walked along the Seine (as cliché as it may sound – that is indeed exactly what I did).
Finally it was the building of the “Institut du monde arabe” that caught my attention.
The institute hosts different events and exhibitions about arab and islamic culture, it has a cafe and an amazing book shop.
I was lucky enough to catch the last day of the exhibition “Cités millénaires – a journey from Palmyra to Mosul”: using Virtual Reality, the ancient archeological sites of the Arab world could be visited. They have now been destroyed by the war and seeing them like they used to be, made it impressive and sad.
The exhibition was there in 2019 only, but I’m sure they host a lot of other interesting events as well.

After my visit to the institute, I decided to get some lunch (crepes of courses!) in one of the many restaurants a bit further.
Next up was a short sightseeing of the Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris. The cue was ridiculously long, so I took some pictures from the outside and then continued my walk.
I stopped by H&M to get a hat, as it was freezing cold, and walked to check out the cues at the Catacombes – waiting time must have been almost 2 hours, so I decided to skip that as well and finally went back to Gare du Lyon to wait for my train to Verona.

With an hour delay, the Thello Night Train arrived! As I had bought the cheapest ticket possible while still having a bed, I was staying in a 6-bed room. Not for people who easily feel claustrophobic, as you sleep with 3 beds over each other and you can’t even sit up straight, but I liked it. I usually sleep well on night trains. Even though the space is tiny and the air can get uncomfortable, I love the experience.

Day 2 – Verona
In the morning I arrived in the main train station of Verona. I got some breakfast and bought a Verona Card.
This card is useful if you want to take some public transport and visit some of the attractions and sights from the inside – which I recommend.From the station it was only a 5 minute walk to hostel Posada Verona Hostel.
I slept the afternoon and then visited Verona by night: Juliet’s house & Torre dei Lamberti are great evening sights.

Day 3 – Verona
On Saturday I visited all the things I wanted to visit with my Verona Card. As everything is spread throughout the city, it’s also a great way to see the city. My recommendation – especially on a Saturday – start early! You might have to wait in line for the Verona Arena, the Castelvecchio and the Torre Dei Lamberti.

Piazza Bra – Verona Arena: roman amphi theatre
Museo Lapidario Maffeiano: Museum with Roman and Greek stones, inscriptions, etc
Castelvecchio Castello Scaligero: medieval castle
Lunch: have some pizza!
Torre dei Lamberti: for the best view over the whole city. Yes it’s worth standing in line for.
Casa di Giulietta: supposed to be the house and balcony from Juliet of Romeo and Juliet.
Basilica di S. Anastasia, Ponte Pietra: a church and a bridge with very nice views over the river surrounding the city
Museo Archeologico al Teatro Romano: ruins of a Roman theatre with an archeological museum.

Day 4 – Return
And that was it already.. to save some time I took a Flixbus in the morning to Milano Bergamo Airport. From there I flew back with a RyanAir flight to Brussels.
Verona also has an international airport, but the flight prices were 3x more expensive.