Back to Paris

 In April, we’re going to Paris with Camila and the boys (Peter and Silas) because SAS had cheap fares from Boston to Paris and because it coincides with the boys’ spring break (more or less) and because we have to test the French Immersion program at the Milton public schools.  We’re all very excited.  Fortunately we’ll be staying in an AirBnB because last time we did a trip together to San Francisco, we stayed at the Hotel Caza by Fisherman’s Wharf and it’s very hard to spend a lot of time together when you can only sit and vegetate together in the Hotel lobby (which was pretty good but not very private).

The first AirBnB in Paris that we reserved was north of Montmartre in the 18th Arrondissement.  The boys loved its quirkiness and it looked nice and clean but the first floor living room windows were previously a storefront so one wonders how private that would be.  There was a bedroom on the mezzanine which would have been great for the boys but the second bedroom was in the basement via a spiral staircase with a second living room with a sofabed.  The one toilet was also in the basement although there were showers on both the mezzanine and in the basement.  And Rue Hermel is a bit remote from the center (49 minutes walking and 37 minutes by metro to the Louvre) although there were two metro lines we could have taken to downtown.  We survived fine when we stayed at an AirBnB in the 17th with Juan, Mandy and Louise.  That one was 56 minutes walking to the Louvre, although only 24 minutes by metro.

After a lot of thought and more perusing, Camila came across an AirBnB in the 10th Arrondissement that has two bedrooms with two double beds plus a sofabed in the living room.  It only has one toilet but at least everything is on the same floor.  Although it is not as artsy as the Rue Hermel AirBnB, it is closer to downtown (28 minutes walking and 17 minutes by metro to the Louvre) and the neighborhood has more stores and restaurants.  It will be noisier because it is on the second floor on a busy street:  Rue du Faubourg San Martin.  As the name (Faubourg) indicates, it is outside the medieval city walls, beyond the arch of Porte San Martin which was built by Louis XIV in 1674, to replace the one build by Charles V in the 1300s (just fyi).

I, of course, am delighted by the fact that there is a covered market, le Marché couvert San Martin, just a 3 minute walk from the AirBnB (5 minutes for us).  Next door to that is a Franprix supermarket where I am assuming we can have a machine squeeze our own orange juice for us each morning, like we had in the Batignolles.  On Thursday or Sunday I’m hoping we can revisit the Marché Bastille so I can pick up yet another hat.  Penny and I went there on a Thursday in 2011 and were enchanted by all the produce we couldn’t buy and we both picked up cute little wool hats.  When we went for Christmas in 2022 with Juan, Mandy and Louise, I picked up a little cashmere hat, along with a couple of pillow covers.  Maybe if we go on Thursday (we arrive on a Wednesday) we can pick up some produce and cheese as well.  It’s a 32 minute walk from the AirBnB but only 16 minutes by metro.  Although I see that there is yet another market in between: Le Marché des Enfants Rouges, which we haven’t been to and that is open every day except Monday.  Hmmm.  Do you think we could hit both?  Does the AirBnB have a shopping cart?

Marché Couvert

So now we have 3 types of markets. The marché couvert or covered market in an established, usually historic, building. The marché volant that sets up only certain days of the week, and the rue commerçante that is really a street with a concentration of boulangeries and patisseries, supermarkets, produce stores, poultry stores, fromageries, triperies, boucheries, and charcuteries that extend into the street (like rue Poncelet, rue Mouffetard, rue Cler, and rue Montorgueuil). I believe it is Patricia Wells that said that the covered markets are a disappointment.

3rd Arrondissement
Le Marché des Enfants Rouges - 39 rue de Bretagne, Tues, Wed, Thurs: 8:30-1PM and 4PM-7:30PM; Fri, Sat: 8h30AM-1PM and 4PM-8PM; Sun: 8:30AM–2PM; Metro: Filles- Calvaire or Temple. "Hidden away in a quiet part of the fashionable Marais quartier, most people walk straight past the discreet entrance of Les Enfants Rouges, not realising that it is the oldest covered market in Paris..." Offers prepared foods for the BoBos.

10th Arrondissement
Marché Saint Quentin
85, bis Bld Magenta, 75010. Paris. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 8:30 am-1 pm and 4 pm-7:30 pm; Sunday, 8:30 am-1 pm. Near the Gare du Nord in the 10th Arrondissement.

12th Arrondissement
Marché Beauvau/Aligre, Place d'Aligre, 12th arrondissement. Tue-Sat 9am-1pm, 4-7.30pm; sun. 8.30am-1.30pm. Take the #1 Metro to Gare de Lyon and walk north. "Open every day except monday from 7.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. You have to complete your shopping by a walk along Rue d'Aligre, a very good popular market street, where the vendors are shouting out loud to attract the customers!" This combines a street market and a covered market. Should we go early when it first opens or wait until just before 1:30 pm when the best bargains appear?

Marchés Volants

I thought open air food markets (marché de plein air) and street markets were pretty much the same but Clotilde Dusoulier lists the marchés volants (roving markets - greenmarkets for which the vendors come in on specific days, set up their stands for a few hours, then pack up and leave). Many of these are later in the day than the street markets that they say run from 8:30 am to 1 pm. There are a lot of them and more as you get outside of the central arrondissements.

Another blog (Paris Connected) says: "Food markets are part of Parisian way of life, there are at least 69 outdoor and 13 indoor markets, and they’re all very popular. Sunday morning’s market is a social institution, and one the most famous is 'le marché d’Aligre', located in east center (between Bastille and Gare de Lyon)." A street market that is best Friday, Saturday or Sunday morning. This is where the Baron Rouge hangs out. "On the Aligre square stands a covered market, le marché Beauvau-Saint Antoine, a bit more expensive, but opening in the afternoon also, and offering many other products, like cheese, fish, meat, poultry, delicatessen, Italian food, selected olive oils and Caribbean dishes."

The Gridskipper also lists Markets for Late Risers or for those that work... And Discover France also has a market list with times and metro stop. And the Guardian has a list of the Best Paris Markets. And French Travel Tips also has a list of markets by arrondissements. We should look at the 10th and 11th arrondissements since there aren't many in the 4th arrondissement.

1st Arrondissement
Marché Raspail: "The most glamourous and the most expensive market on the Left Bank, where the celebrities do their shopping." BioOrganic. Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Boulevard Raspail entre les rues du Cherche-Midi et de Rennes. M° Saint-Placide, Rennes, Sèvres-Babylone

4th Arrondisement
Place Baudoyer Wednesday afternoon from 12:30pm to 8:30pm and Saturday morning from 7am to 3pm.

5th Arrondissement
Maubert in Place Maubert just across the Ile de Saint Louis on the Left Bank. Tues, Thurs, Sat 7 am-2:30 pm

11th Arrondissement
Marche Richard Lenoir (Bastille)
"Beginning beneath the famous monument at the Place de la Bastille, two long alleyways of tempting French gourmet products stretch for almost a kilometre. There are street entertainers and musicians, and stalls to hunt down include an irresistible wine seller, Eduard Mace, specialising in rare vintages, and Jacky Lorenzo, Paris's most famous fishmonger." Sunday and Thursday mornings. YouTube Video.

Marché Popincourt
Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, between rues Oberkampf et Jean-Pierre Timbaud
Tuesday and Friday from 7h à 14h30. Evidently it operates when the Bastille Market doesn't. Here's another blog that gushes over the cheese ladies there.
Métro : Oberkampf

19th Arrondissement
Marché Belleville-Ménilmontant
"No, the bobos [same as bohos?] have not gotten this far. At least not quite... Belleville & Ménilmontant undoubtedly remain the last real popular areas of Paris in the true sense of the term, a melting-pot where die-hard Parisian, second generation North Africans and Chinese cohabit most of the time in perfect harmony." This area also has a lot of artists.

Les Marchés: Rues Commerçantes

As opposed to periodic open air markets that only set up a few days a week, rues commerçantes are streets that have a concentration of boulangeries and patisseries, supermarkets, produce stores, poultry stores, fromageries, triperies, boucheries, and charcuteries. The Paris Traveler lists Ten Street Markets and says there are "just too many" to list them all.

1st Arrondisement
Rue Montorgueil
Metro: Les Halles
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-6pm and Sunday morning

5th Arrondissement
Rue Mouffetard
Metro: Censier-Daubenton
Hours: 8am-1pm, Tuesday to Sunday

6th Arrondissement
Marché Rue de Buci - wide variety of produce and seafood, Open daily.
M° Mabillon, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Odéon

7th Arrondissement
Rue Cler in the 7th towards the Eiffel Tower
Rick Steves: Rue Cler - The market is at its best Tue–Sat 8:30–13:00 or 15:00–19:30, Sun 8:30–12:00, dead on Mon.
Slow Travel France: Rue Cler

Sablaise Poissonerie, Rue Cler - a video advertisement for a popular fish market, practice your French!

12th Arrondissement
Marche d’Aligre
Metro: Ledru-Rollin
Every morning except Monday, 8am to 1pm. This is also listed in the Marche Volant section. "The market area radiating off the Place d’Aligre is one of the most diverse in the city. It’s a mix of Parisian food market, North African bazaar and flea market, where young and old Paris collide. There are clothing bargains aplenty and classic cafes such as Le Baron Rouge for sitting and sipping. Expect a cultural adventure."


17th Arrondissement
Rue Poncelet