Tour · 6 stops · ~1 morning
Markets of Paris
Where Parisians actually shop.
Six food markets — four covered, two streets — that locals still use daily. Mornings are best (most stalls close by 13:30). Bring cash and a tote.
Through the3e · Haut Marais1er · Louvre & Les Halles12e · Bastille, Bercy & Aligre7e · Eiffel Tower & Invalides5e · Latin Quarter11e · Oberkampf & Bastille
1Marché des Enfants Rouges
39 Rue de Bretagne, founded 1615 — the oldest covered market in Paris. Named for the red-clothed orphans of a nearby 16th-century orphanage. Now equal parts produce and prepared-food stalls; the Moroccan and Italian counters at lunch are excellent.
Closed Mondays. Lunch is the move — three or four prepared-food counters serve actual meals at communal tables in the back. The Moroccan tagine counter is the local favourite; arrive at noon to beat the queue. Closes 14:30.
From Wikipedia›
The Marché des Enfants Rouges is the oldest covered market in Paris, France. It was established in 1628 as the "petit marché du Marais" and is located at 39 Rue de Bretagne in the Marais (3rd) arrondissement. The market has been listed as a historic monument since 1982.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Le Traiteur Marocain (Enfants Rouges)1 minChez Omar1 min
→Walk west through the Marais — about 20 min, easier than transit for this hop. Or métro: Filles du Calvaire (line 8) westbound to Réaumur-Sébastopol (3 stops), then walk north to Rue Montorgueil.
48.86290, 2.36210
2Rue Montorgueil
Pedestrianised market street running through the 1st and 2nd. Cheese, fish, oysters, bread, wine, all on one block. Stohrer (1730) is mid-street; Le Rocher de Cancale (1846) was already a writers' hangout when Balzac was alive.
Walk the whole length, north to south, between Rue Tiquetonne and Rue Saint-Sauveur. The fish stall opposite Stohrer opens at 7 am with the previous day's catch. La Maison Stohrer (no. 51) is on the Sweet Paris tour; allow time to detour in.
From Wikipedia›
The Rue Montorgueil is a street in the 1st arrondissement and 2nd arrondissement of Paris, France. Lined with restaurants, cafés, bakeries, fish stores, cheese shops, wine shops, produce stands and flower shops, the Rue Montorgueil is a place for Parisians to socialize while doing their daily shopping. At the southernmost tip of the Rue Montorgueil is Saint-Eustache Church, and Les Halles, containing the largest indoor shopping mall in central Paris; and to the north is the area known as the Grands Boulevards. While cars are not banned from the street, the priority is for pedestrians who can enjoy the cafés and shops while walking down the cobblestones.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Pirouette4 minSaint-Eustache — Keith Haring chapel4 min
→Long hop east. Métro Étienne Marcel (line 4) → Châtelet, transfer to line 1 east, ride to Bastille. Walk south down Rue de Lyon ~5 min to Place d'Aligre. ~25 min total.
48.86430, 2.34600
- 3
Marché d'Aligre
Place d'Aligre. The cheapest market in central Paris and the only one with a brocante (flea market) running daily next to the produce stalls. The covered Marché Beauvau on the same square has the more upmarket cheeses and traiteurs.
Tuesday–Sunday mornings. Closes 13:30. The brocante is good for vintage glass and old kitchenware; haggle hard. Le Baron Rouge wine bar on the corner of Rue Théophile Roussel is the post-shopping local stop — Sundays they shuck oysters at the door.
Verified nearby ·Le Baron Rouge2 minL'Ébauchoir5 min
→Big jump across town. Métro Ledru-Rollin (line 8) → La Tour-Maubourg or École Militaire (line 8) — 8 stops, ~20 min, no transfer. Walk a block west to Rue Cler.
48.85030, 2.37790
- 4
Rue Cler
Five blocks of pedestrianised market street in the 7th, between Avenue de la Motte-Picquet and Rue de Grenelle. Quieter and posher than Aligre — more bistros and patisseries, fewer haggling locals. Come for the cheese shops.
The Café du Marché on the corner of Rue Cler and Rue de Grenelle is the spot for a Sunday-morning omelette. Walk the street north-to-south. The fromagerie Marie-Anne Cantin (no. 12) is one of the city's best cheese shops; closed Mondays.
Verified nearby ·Hôtel du Cadran1 minCafé du Marché1 min
→Tricky cross-river hop. Easiest is bus 86 directly from Avenue de la Motte-Picquet — runs the entire Left Bank east-west and stops a block from Rue Mouffetard. Métro alternative: line 8 to Concorde, line 12 to Censier-Daubenton. ~30 min either way.
48.85690, 2.30550
5Rue Mouffetard
Roman-era road (it's been a thoroughfare for 2,000 years), market street since at least the 17th century. The lower stretch, descending from Place de la Contrescarpe, is the food market — the upper stretch is mostly bars.
Start at Place de la Contrescarpe (top) and walk down — the slope is the experience. Sundays before noon are the busiest. The Saint-Médard church at the bottom marks the end of the food street; the Eglise Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (Hemingway's 'good wide street') is a five-minute walk west.
From Wikipedia›
The Rue Mouffetard is a street in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Hôtel des Grandes Écoles2 minHotel Monge3 min
→Métro Place Monge (line 7) northbound to Sully-Morland (4 stops). Cross Pont de Sully and walk north through the 4th to Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, ~10 min on foot from the métro. ~20 min total.
48.84440, 2.35060
- 6
Marché Bastille
Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, Thursdays and Sundays only. The biggest open-air food market in Paris — over a kilometre of stalls. Locals come for fish (the Atlantic stalls are direct from the boat overnight) and for the seasonal mushrooms in autumn.
Thursday and Sunday only, 7 am to 14:30. Walk the central row, then double back along the side rows — the cheaper stalls are the inner ones. The chicken-rotisserie stalls are the lunch move; bring cash.
Verified nearby ·Moonshiner2 minBorn Bad Record Shop3 min
48.85590, 2.36970