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I made a first version of this report more than eight years ago on another website to describe the “ethnic zone” north of Gare du Nord, a place to which many visitors never stray, because it is wedged between the tracks of Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est and possesses no noteworthy monuments or museums. In fact, it has precious little of anything… except people. But I think that they are very interesting people, and I have been living right in the middle of this area for more than 20 years now, so I have come to know it fairly well.

My recommendation is for a walking tour with Gare du Nord as the starting point, and it can become the first section of a day that will take you to Montmartre. Good walking legs are highly recommended, but if you need to make some rest stops for refreshments, you will see that we are far from the land of the not-so-mythical $8 Coke. Many people who arrive at Gare du Nord on the RER from the airport or by train never even get to see what a fine building Gare du Nord is because they dive immediately into the metro or jump into a taxi.

Gare du Nord in full glory: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q.../Eth%20008.jpg

<b>Little India and Little Jaffna</b>

While a major zone of Indian restaurants already starts several blocks south of Gare du Nord (notably the Passage Brady and rue Jarry area, not far from Gare de l’Est), the main South Asian zone of Paris starts just north of Gare du Nord along the Faubourg Saint Denis. The various cultures appear to live in complete harmony, which gives rise to a sort of gastronomic fusion, which sometimes leads to a certain confusion. For example, I wrote about a certain <b>Indo-Mexican Fast Food</b> at 186 fbg. St. Denis in my earlier report. It no longer exists, but how about <b>D.F.C.</b> (Delhi Fried Chicken?) at 168 fbg. St. Denis? It has a “veg menu” for non chicken eaters for 4.90€ consisting of merely an ice cream sundae with coffee or soda, or for people who would actually like some food, the sundae can be replaced by 3 samosas.

Perhaps we can forget about that one because right next door at 170 fbg. St. Denis are two fine looking bright and shiny places. <b>Best of India</b> has a lunch menu for 10€ or the fancy “menu du chef” for 18€. In the same building is the 100% vegetarian <b>Saravanaa Bhavan</b>, which claims to be part of a chain that boasts establishments all over the world but mostly in the Middle East and South Asia. There is also 100% veg <b>Sangeetha</b> at 176 or the <b>Madras Café</b> at 178. The “formule” at this last one is 8€ but there is a luxury menu for 16€.

We are still across from the Gare du Nord building here, so it should be pointed out that there are also numerous telephone boutiques for people who need to connect quickly. At 176 there is a Lycamobile place which also has internet booths. The going price for internet in the area is generally 1€ per hour. Lyca, LeBara, Symacom signs are everywhere. Ortel used to be a major operator as well, but it has merged with something or other. Naturally, all of the places also handle the big French operators Orange, SFR, Bouygues and Free.

While the aroma of curry and other spices hangs over the entire neighborhood, it is the other shops that will attract the most attention on the Faubourg. I have never seen a Western woman not start fantasizing about a costume party while looking at all of the mannequins in the Indian shop windows. <b>Asian Silks</b> and the <b>Saree Palace</b> can be found at 182 fbg. St. Denis in a beautiful Haussmannian building.

Asian Silks and Saree Palace : http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...th%20g%201.jpg

For people who don’t want to stray far from the station, like maybe they are taking a train in half an hour, but they want to buy some exotic spices, fruit or chillies, there is the appropriately named <b>Indian Supermarket</b> at 184 fbg. St. Denis. Do not be tricked by the sarees and jewelry in the front window – there is indeed a food store in the back. It is sort of hidden by a bus shelter directly in front of the door, but the sign is big enough to see.

186 fbg. St. Denis marks the beginning of the numerous fast food places, with <b>Aachchi</b> and <b>Gowri Villas</b> selling various samosa, pakora, biryani, etc.

Rue Demarquay branches off on the right here and has the usual selection of Indian photo studios, tailors and beauty institutes, but it also has a <b>Pizza Hut</b> takeaway for people with different priorities.

Going back to the world of clothing, <b>Januna Fashion</b> at 189 fbg. St. Denis proposes saris starting at 25€ each, but no matter what price, the saleswomen are always there to show exactly how you ladies are supposed to drape the things on. Islamic fashions are sold as well, and in the very next shop you will see long Punjabi tunics with the accompanying baggy trousers. At 191 are <b>Jaipur Silk Palace, Asian Fashion</b> and <b>New India</b>, which claims to have 5 metre long saris for 6€. In spite of the name, at 193 <b>New Pirasanthy Jewellery</b> is also filled with saris with the added attraction of a man sitting at his sewing machine in the front window making more of them. At 195 is <b>Madras Silk House</b> and at 197 I found the most expensive saris on display at <b>Indian Silk Palace</b> : 59.99 to 99.99€. To end up this fashion section, I will also mention <b>Singapore Silk Point</b> at 210 fbg. St. Denis. Besides clothing, they also sell art objects (statuettes, bric-à-brac…). Naturally, I have not at all exhausted the list of possible places.

Asian Sari Center:
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...th%20g%205.jpg

Culture is a very important element of the lifestyle of this community, and to say the least, it is very accessible. Have you always been fascinated by those Indian movies with all of the incredible singing and dancing? At the <b>Vanavil Music</b> at 191 fbg. St. Denis, there is a bin out front with DVDs and CDs for 1€ each. You will find a slightly more expensive offer at <b>Indian Music Center</b> at 199 fbg. St. Denis with the items at 2€ each or 3 for 5€.

<b>Next: more food.</b>

The very Haussmannian Faubourg Saint Denis: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...th%20g%204.jpg

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<b>Food in the area</b>

There is quite a selection of food stores in the area selling the sodas and beers from “back home” even though a lot of the population was born here, and naturally all of the fruits and vegetables that mystify many Europeans.

Among the major food stores, there are <b>Shaae Cash & Carry</b> at 193 fbg. St. Denis and three others all at 197: <b>S.P. Traders, Sri Mahall, VS Co</b>. And at the very end of the Faubourg Saint Denis right next to the exit of the La Chapelle metro station, there is <b>Gopal & Co</b>.

A few visuals:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...th%20g%207.jpg
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...th%20g%203.jpg
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2011.jpg

There are plenty of others on the side streets, but I know that most short term visitors to Paris are probably not going to need South Asian groceries, with the possible exception of picky eaters visiting from South Asia. I know that once I helped a Bangladeshi visitor who was bringing his very finicky and elderly parents with him, and it was apparently a godsend for them to be able to eat in some of the restaurants in the area and pick up some items for their hotel room. Working for an airline for 35 years, I also know that many Indian visitors – at least in the old days – would fill half of their suitcase with food and it would often be confiscated by customs.

So, what about the restaurants other than the ones I mentioned right next to the train station? Well, there are hundreds of them, perhaps even a thousand, in Paris but in this particular area, I would say that there are at least 50 which qualify as a restaurant rather than as just a fast food or a snack bar. One that a lot of people like is <b>Dishny</b> at 212 fbg. St. Denis. It still operates as the traditional French café that it used to be, but the menu is Indian, and it has also expanded into the space next door on rue Cail. I have not eaten there yet myself, but I will be enthusiastic about trying it whenever any of my friends wants to give it a go. It has a “menu duo” for 2 at 59€ that starts off with a mojito, champagne or whisky and gives you access to every dish on the menu.

Photo of Dishny : http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...th%20g%206.jpg

And speaking of rue Cail, it has a multitude of appealing places. <b>Mathura</b> at 6 rue Cail has lunch menus for 7, 9 and 10€ and dinners for 13 or 16€. The <b>Chettinadu Mess</b> at 15 rue Cail can now be considered to be a veteran of the area, so its staying power implies that it must be good. The 100% veg <b>Krishna Bhavan VIP</b> in the same building looks very nice, too. In fact, <b>Krishna Bhavan</b> must be doing quite well, because it also has restaurants at 21 and 24 rue Cail across from each other. <b>Indira</b> at 23 rue Cail doesn’t look shabby either, but the place that intrigues me the most is a recent arrival – <b>Coffee Anjapper</b>. Unlike a lot of places where formica and fluorescent lighting (or perhaps LED lighting) seem to rule, this place at 22 rue Cail is totally decorated (including the façade) in dark richly carved wood and looks more like a cocktail lounge than a restaurant. It acts as both, of course.

Coffee Anjapper : http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...th%20g%208.jpg

If all of this overwhelms you, there is the <b>Hot Breads</b> bakery back at 208 fbg. St. Denis with some simili-French items but also some rigid frosted cakes that could probably break a window if you threw them.
Still hungry? Just a few steps away on rue Louis Blanc, there is the delightful looking <b>Nalas Aappakadai</b> at 54 rue Louis Blanc, the elegant <b>Bharath</b> at 51 rue Louis Blanc and the simpler <b>Café Bharath</b> at 67. There is also the <b>Restaurant Pondichéry</b> at 5 rue Perdonnet which seems nice and simple but boasts that it has been there since 1993, which is certainly much longer than most of the other places. It is specialized in biryani.

A short aside on the “<i>why?</i>” of this neighborhood. It must be noted that even though greater India was a massive British colony, France and Portugal possessed a few minor specks here and there. France was notably established at Pondicherry, Chandernagor, Kerikal, Yanoan and Mahé. This started in 1673, and the territories were not returned to India until…. 1956.

The main thing to know is that France offered citizenship to all of the inhabitants of its territories before the turnover, and the population at that time was 362,000. Quite understandably and commendably, the vast majority opted to become Indian. However, about 6000 families remained French. I needn’t inform you that India has a healthy birthrate, and that those 6000 have multiplied over the years. Pondicherry is reputedly one of the richest cities in India due simply to French government subsidies paid to French families there, even if they have never set foot in France.

The residents of this neighborhood in Paris are not all from southern India, however. Many are British (EU citizenship can be very useful to have.) and lots of others come from (French) Réunion Island and Mauritius, which is also mostly French speaking. In recent years, many thousand Srilankan refugees were accepted by France, and most of them are in Paris. Nevertheless (and this will interest tourists with deficient language skills), throughout this entire neighborhood, you will have no problem at all finding people who speak English better than they speak French, even if they are French citizens.

We have now arrived at metro La Chapelle and will cross over to the 18th arrondissement, where the ethnic mix will begin to change. Place de la Chapelle does have a sort of monument: <b>Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord</b> (www.bouffesdunord.com) where Peter Brook was established for more than 30 years. He finally turned over the reins of the theatre in 2010. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but if you saw Jean-Jacques Beineix’s movie <b>Diva</b>, this is the theatre from the beginning of the movie where the opera singer was performing. It remains stripped bare, paintless and seatless (one sits on cushions, except in the balconies, where the old wooden seats have been retained), and presents some of the most spectacular plays that one can see in Paris. Fittingly enough, a number of the plays have been based on Peter Brook’s travels to India.

<b>Next: moving on to other parts of Asia</b>

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<b>North of metro line 2 (Nation-Dauphine)</b>

<b>Continuing north from Place de la Chapelle</b>

For anybody who is considering the concept of eliminating some of the walking, I should repeat immediately what is marked on all of the theatrical documents for the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, clearly from unfortunate experience: <b>metro La Chapelle and NOT Porte de la Chapelle</b>. Please be aware that La Chapelle is on line 2 of the metro and Porte de la Chapelle is on line 12. People have been making the mistake for more than 70 years.

Rue du Faubourg Saint Denis becomes rue Marx Dormoy as it crosses under the metro. Nevertheless, it is the same road, built by the Romans -- beginning in Rome and ending in Brussels, also called rue Saint Jacques, rue Saint Denis and rue de la Chapelle in various parts of Paris. I live on this street and feel a discernible historical bonus for doing so, even if my ugly building was built as some sort of customs or toll post around 1798. No elegant Haussmannian lines to my building, with everything crooked. And if you drop a ping pong ball in any room, I can tell you exactly to which corner it will roll.

Rue Marx Dormoy is a mishmash of cultures. Some people will find it interesting and others boring. There are Turkish/Greek sandwich places, Egyptian groceries, Pakistani bazaars, Moroccan couscous restaurants (less than 10€), Chinese delis, French cafés, African hair salons, and plenty of things that I can’t even remember. Oh, and <b>Monoprix</b>, of course. After all, this is Paris.
Rather than taking the direct path (but I will come back to it later), it is perhaps more interesting to start up the more or less parallel street, rue Philippe de Girard. The South Asian establishments have spilled over there, as evidenced by the busy <b>Bharati Villas</b> at 56 rue Philippe de Girard. One of the reasons for its popularity is that it is directly across from the <b>Ganesh Temple</b> at 17 rue Pajol (www.templeganesh.fr). It is the Ganesh temple that organizes the annual procession through the area that attracts more than 30,000 people.
This year’s procession will take place on 30 August.

Poster for Ganesh procession
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2016.jpg

I never miss it and I generally make a photo report about it. I don’t seem to have made one last year, but here is the report from 2013:
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...rocession-2013

I find the event totally wonderful, even more so because it is the sort of thing that one does not expect to see in Paris.

Right next door to the Ganesh Temple is an extremely ugly modern building at 11 rue Pajol which is a church that goes by the name of <b><i>Notre Dame de Chaldée</i></b>. The Chaldeans are a Catholic church of the Orient, loyal to the Roman Catholic Church. It was founded in Mesopotamia but has been pushed all over the place, mostly to Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran. 80% of French Chaldeans (a community of 18,000) are reputedly from Turkey. I must try to visit the church some day.

Okay, I said that the church was ugly, but I forgot to say at the same time that the Temple Ganesh is also quite ugly, or rather it doesn’t really look like anything, which is a shame considering the size of the community. And this is their “new” temple to which they moved only about 6 or 7 years ago.

Ganesh temple: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2019.jpg

Right around here has become the preferred area of Sudanese and Eritrean refugees over the past two years. There was a big camp under the elevated metro, but it was evacuated a couple of months ago. The refugees swarmed from place to place in the neighborhood since there is no lack of wide open spaces and poorly policed parks, but the police continued to expel them, so I don’t know where they are sleeping now – but they are still spending their days at the <b>Café Restaurant Soudanais</b> at 14 rue Pajol and there is also a grocery store a few steps away at 64 rue Philippe de Girard called <b>Aux Délices du Soudan</b>. Most of them are lounging around on the sidewalks because they have absolutely nothing else to do, but they are basically just harmless and sad. The <b>Somali Mini Market</b> at 86 rue Philippe de Girard probably also has a reason for carrying that name.

Continuing on rue Pajol, we come to the Esplanade Nathalie Sarraute, which is a bright shiny diamond in an otherwise depressed area. It is basically just a thick part of rue Pajol, but it is indeed wide enough to merit the term “esplanade.” It is all part of land owned by the SNCF (French National Railways) and the buildings are converted railway buildings. One has become a junior high school (and also my voting station during elections), but the huge building was an old rail warehouse that has undergone a stunning transformation. It houses the extremely nice <b>Yves Robert youth hostel</b>, one of the biggest ones in Paris, at number 18, and next to it are some trendy places for food and drink: <b>Délidrop</b> at 14, <b>Bob’s Bake Shop</b> at 12 and the very fashionable <b>Les Petites Gouttes Café Restaurant </b> at 10. The crummy old cafés across the street have also upgraded with <b>Guantanamera</b> and <b>Paris Snack French Touche</b> at 47 rue Pajol. Then there is the hipster café <b>La Vieille Pie</b> at 24 rue Pajol on the corner of rue Riquet. Huge crowds spill out on to the street every night and some of the customers spill over into the African café across from it, just called <b>Le RDV</b> at 80 rue Riquet. Also at 24 rue Pajol there is the Ivorian restaurant <b>Place Figayo</b>.

Just one youth hostel and a few cheap hotels obviously could not keep all of these places in business, but the area has also become #1 in Paris for university student housing since just about every building built is a new student residence. There is also a new university annex in the area with 500 students on the corner of rue Pajol and rue du Département, part of the <b>Paris Diderot</b> campus, so the area has really become much more trendy with young people than most people think it is.

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If you prefer to stay on rue Philippe de Girard to go north, frankly there is not much to “see” but at number 70, there is the grandly named <b>Annamali University</b>, which seems to consist of perhaps a half dozen rooms on the ground level of a modern apartment building. Right across at 77 is the <b>African mosque</b>. It is just a blank door with no indications on it, but if you pass by at prayer time, you will see what a busy place it is. Next door 79 is the <b>Sanderasekaram Association Hindi Tamoul</b>. I’m not quite sure if it is a temple or not. All I know is that it used to be a café and then it was a pizza delivery place.

But back to the main road – rue Marx Dormoy, which is the continuation of the Faubourg Saint Denis. No particular ethnic group dominates the street, which means that they are all present. One particular address makes me smile, because everybody seems to want it and nobody manages to keep it – the 68 rue Marx Dormoy. It used to be a Greek sandwich place and then it was suddenly transformed into an Indian fast food place called <i>Chez Ganesha</i>. That didn’t last, so it was replaced by <i>Pizza Hot Bull</i> (hallal pizza, chicken tikka, Greek sandwiches), which did not succeed either. Next up was <i>Au Baobab</i>, Senegalese fast food. Still no success, so now it is a Chinese deli called <b>Dormoy Gourmet</b>, serving hand pulled noodles. I feel as though the countdown has started. That address is clearly cursed, even though it seems to be a perfect location.

In the ethnic mix of the street, there are places like <b>Pothis</b> at number 9 or <b>Miss Moni</b> at 71. These are large clothing stores with no fixed style. The first one sells saris and modern clothing, while the other one sells Muslim garb and modern clothing.

Pothis Parisian fashions:
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2012.jpg

The grocery stores take a turn for North Africa and the Middle East with places like <b>Star Orientale</b> at 10 rue Marx Dormoy, <b>Sabbah Orientale</b> at 22 and 24 or <b>Istanbul Oriental</b> at 74. It should be noted that the word <i>oriental</i> in French refers to the Near East rather than the Far East. These places sell Turkish, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese, Tunisian and Algerian items, from chick pea flour to sickly sweet sodas with strange names, from halva to huge bunches of obligatory cilantro. They have big vats of olives and bags of potatoes and onions to feed a family of 17. There is also the first Chinese supermarket at 25, soberly called <b>Supermarché La Chapelle</b> and still a few Indian places, such as Beauty Zone at 33 which seems to sell everything and more: beauty products, groceries, household needs… and it’s a beauty salon at the same time.

Sabbah Orientale: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2014.jpg

Beauty Zone : http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2015.jpg

I did not mention the 20 telephone boutiques or the 15 “<i>bazaar</i>” stores but they are hard to miss. The bazaars are great because you never know when you are going to suddenly need a new toilet brush, drainboard, pack of toothpicks, extension cord, cooking pot, Chinese toys or clock radio indicating the prayer times for Muslims. I have bought so many things in those places, including the 5€ Chinese umbrellas which I have learned to make last an entire season even though a lot of people claim that they break with 48 hours.

North African presence is still prominent as evidenced by the numerous couscous restaurants. L’Etoile du Maghreb at 19 rue Marx Dormoy has just been renovated and looks sparkling clean, which I am sorry to say is not the case for every place on the street.

L’Etoile du Maghreb: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2013.jpg

The local <b>Monoprix</b> at 62 rue Marx Dormoy should even be mentioned, because most of the cashiers are South Asian and a lot of the English speaking tourists from the youth hostel are amazed to be able to communicate without any problem at all.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the other Indian place of worship just off to the side at 25 rue du Département, the <b>Muthumariamman Temple</b>.

But basically we are now arriving at metro Marx Dormoy, where the neighborhood undergoes a new radical change.

<b>Next: my own private Chinatown</b>

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Just at the exit of metro <b>Marx Dormoy</b> is the rather fancy <b>Au Roi du Café</b> at 2 rue de la Chapelle. Dark walls, sophisticated lighting, bookshelves, two big plants framing the entrance. I never go there because there is a waitress who seems to “forget” to bring back the change.

It is still very popular and is a good place to stop for something French. If it’s pastry time, the two best options are both nearby – the <b>Boulangerie de Mogador</b> at 10 rue de la Chapelle or <b>La Huche Normande</b> at 81 rue Riquet. The éclairs and St. Honoré are as French as ever, but evidence of a change in the ownership is visible when you see the little collection boxes for the Palestinian children’s fund next to the cash register. This does not stop these places from going all out for Easter chocolates and to cover the place with Christmas decorations, Santas, sparkling garlands, etc. in December.

To visit the little Chinatown here, it is best to go up rue Riquet half a block to where the one and only pedestrian street of the area is found – <b>rue de l’Olive</b>. Even though that’s what everybody has always called the street, until 2010 the name was actually <b>rue l’Olive</b> because it was named after the colonizer of Guadeloupe, <i>Charles Liénard de l'Olive</i>. Obviously, he was also involved in the slave trade back in those days (1635), so it was decided that there is no longer any reason to honor him. Anyway, they have put olive trees in wooden cases in front of the covered <i>Marché de la Chapelle</i> to make it clear that we are now talking about olives and not about Monsieur l’Olive. The covered market dates from 1883 and it is a lovely edifice in the pure Baltard style. It is remarkably spacious inside because it was renovated in 2010 and the aisles were widened considerably, partly to mask the fact that there are far fewer vendors than there used to be and also to make it fully handicap accessible. It is in the covered market that you might begin to notice that the majority of the merchants are Chinese, even when they are selling traditional French products like <i>andouillette</i> or <i>pâté forestier</i>. They also kind of break the tradition of these places being closed from 13:00 to 16:00 because a few of them remain open non stop.

When you come here, you should not miss the popular new wine bar <b>En Vrac</b> at 2 rue de l’Olive. It also sells bulk wine out of barrels, so if you bring your own container, you can get good wine for 2 or 3 euros per liter. Unfortunately, drinking on site is considerably more expensive, but they do have small plates of cheese and/or charcuterie for 6.60 and big plates for 13.00, not to mention a growing menu. The website www.vinenvrac.fr is in French, English and Japanese. Across the street from there at 79 rue Riquet, there is the friendly <b>Le Canaille 18</b> restaurant, with the special of the day usually priced around 9.50€. Other places have also sprung up on rue de l’Olive due to the influx of students and tourists. There is <b>L’Eden</b> at 6 and the <b>Brasserie l’Olive</b> at 8. The Brasserie l’Olive is proud of its selection of Frenchified burgers, including a veggie burger. It has a very short happy hour from 19:00 to 20:00 but you can get a beer plus french fries for 5€ then. <b>The Bar du Marché</b> at 9 (also called <i>Le Monde de Léa</i has happy hour from 15:00 to 20:00 with pints for 4.50€. There is also a popular crêperie called <b>La Sauterelle</b> at 11 which is open between 10:00 and 18:00.

Brasserie l’Olive with covered market on the left http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2018.jpg

Rue de l’Olive is very short and you immediately arrive at one of the main Chinese street, <b>rue de Torcy</b>. It is full of restaurants of which my personal favorite is <b>La Locomotive</b> at 25 rue de Torcy. It is extremely basic and crowded, but the food is not only out of this world, it is also very cheap. The set price meal is 9.90€. Local workers and resident Asians usually order the rice plates for lunch – a big mound of steamed rice with various ingredients heaped on top. They look to me like they could feed a family of four, but they only cost about 9€. Just across the street are <b>New Thai San</b> at 44, another popular canteen style place but with more pages to the menu and prices just a tad higher, and then there is <b>Hanouman</b> at 36, a big modern luxurious restaurant often used for Chinese weddings, equipped for karaoke and which also has dim sum carts circulating between the tables on weekends. Nevertheless, it also has basic set menus starting around 10€ and also a Peking duck for 4 priced at 65€.

<b>Tin Tin</b> on the corner of rue de Torcy and place de Torcy is also cheap and good. The best thing about this place is that it is only Chinese restaurant in the area that puts tables outside on the square during the warm months. It has a set price meal at 9.50€. At 35 rue de Torcy is the Japanese restaurant <b>Shin Juku</b>, operated by Chinese, of course. Its sushi meals with rice and soup start at 10.50€.

If any of you find this a little pricey, may I suggest <b>La Maison Thai</b> at 2 rue de l’Evangile, a restaurant (but mostly take-away) with 2 tables. You can eat well for 5€. When school is in session, there is a line of at least 20 people at 1 p.m. waiting out in the street to get food. As I write this, it is closed for the month of August, but new competition has just moved in next door in the form of <b>Tai An</b>. I will be curious to see how they match up next month.

Tai An and La Maison Thai http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2019.jpg

Just a little farther, there is the big Chinese supermarket <b>Paris Store</b> at 6 rue de l’Evangile. In association with the G20 supermarket chain, it operates simultaneously as a French supermarket, so you can see 2 parallel universes jostling in the aisles, oblivious to each other, plus a third group choosing products from both domains.

There are several other Chinese supermarkets in the neighbourhood, and none of them seems to risk going out of business.

Paris Store: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...h%20g%2020.jpg

At the small park of the <b>Square de la Madone</b> just beyond Paris Store, you might see people filling plastic bottles and jerricans at the large fountain there. It is one of several spring sources in Paris and is jealously protected in case of national aquatic emergency.

One last thing to see before moving onto Africa – the two churches. At 16 rue de la Chapelle is <b>Saint Denys de la Chapelle</b> and at 18 rue de la Chapelle is the <b>Basilique Sainte Jeanne d’Arc</b>. The two churches connect with each other, and to my knowledge it might be the only case in Paris of 2 churches built side by side. You will be walking in the footprints of <b>Joan of Arc</b> here, because this is where she prayed in 1429 before entering the city of Paris. (The village of La Chapelle was annexed by the city in 1860.) There is a statue, of course. If you pop into the church during mass, you will see that the congregation is nearly entirely black or Asian.

<b>Next: into Africa</b>

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This part of our little stroll will probably be the most exotic to most people because Africa is not yet on the tourist trail of most people, and the geopolitical situation makes it likely that the situation is not going to change soon.

Most people know that France had enormous colonial territories in North Africa and West Africa until the early 1960’s. Whether or not it was horrible or beneficial has never been completely determined, but in any case France had a profound influence in this part of the world, and now it’s payback time.

Illegal African immigration is currently the largest source of new inhabitants to France, and the media have shown that people take tremendous risks to come to Europe. Many of them choose France because they have learned the language and have family here. Thousands more die every year making the trip – many of them drown on rickety boats, others asphyxiate hidden in trucks, innumerable ones die just trying to cross the desert to the Mediterranean coast.

However, the African district of Paris is a generally happy place. Happy just to be alive for some of them, but most are happy to have finally arrived legally by using the “family unification” options (even if certain politicians would like to eliminate this). Anyway, probably at least half of the people you can see in the northern “<i>Goutte d’Or</i>” are French citizens, not to mention that nearly all of the children are French-born.
The best place to change continents is <b>rue Doudeauville</b> which starts from rue Marx Dormoy. All of the major streets (rue de Jessaint, rue Jean-François Lepine, rue Ordener) start by crossing the Gare du Nord railroad tracks, and the moment you have finished crossing, Africa begins. Of course there are a number of African places on the eastern side of the train tracks, such as the African mosque already mentioned, and also a shop selling African fashions at 70 rue Marx Dormoy, <b>Etoile de Falenne</b>.

As you progress west, rue Doudeauville rapidly becomes more and more African. But the first thing that you will pass is the most important address of the neighborhood – the office of <b>France Terre d’Asile</b> at 4 rue Doudeauville. It is a major NGO that offers assistance to all refugees and stateless persons. If you pass it at certain times of the day (usually early afternoon), there will be a queue of more than 100 people waiting to be allowed to enter to obtain a lodging voucher, get assistance with their administrative papers, receive an emergency toiletry kit or just pick up their mail. I walk up rue Doudeauville every day and look at the people. More than 90% of the ones in line are men and teenage boys, most of them are black, but it is also easy to spot Afghans, Iraqis, Syrians, Kazakhs and Chinese in the crowd. They stand there very patiently, because after all, many of them have been patiently waiting to get to Europe for six months or 3 years. Waiting an hour or two in Paris is nothing for them. All of the notices in the window are in French, English, Russian and Arabic.

Just a few steps past the agency, we have already arrived in Africa with 3 establishments at 10 rue Doudeauville: an import-export company called <b>France-Guinée Distribution</b>, a beauty parlor called <b>Salon Mayindombe</b> which does extravagant braids and extensions, and the restaurant <b>Chez Zeyna</b>.
There is also a little street called <b>rue Jean-Robert</b>, which is one of the most dilapidated in the area but which is also full of life. Some people think it has too much life, since the more conservative elements say it is a coupe-gorge (a ‘throat-cutting’ street), but I have absolutely never felt unsafe in it. It has a number of little dives like the restaurant <b>Keur Yacine</b> at number 2 or <b>Au Bon Accueil d’Henry</b> at 7. There is also a place called <b>Au Bon Pain Chaud</b> at 21, purportedly run by “Yasmina & Samira” but I have never seen any bread there. It looks more like it should be called “<i>Cheap and Efficient Rotgut Alcohol</i>.” But actually, most of the street consists of African sewing shops. Men sit at sewing machines in the dark (sewing being a man’s job in Africa, just as it is in the Middle East and South Asia) for some reason. The windows are never uncovered, and the only light comes through the open doors.

Sewing shops on rue Jean-Robert http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...friq%20009.jpg

Meanwhile, back at 12 rue Doudeauville there is the restaurant <b>Au Douze</b>. It has only been open about a month (used to be a beauty and nail salon) and will probably have disappeared by the time you visit the street, but it claims to have <i>brochettes</i> for 2€ and dishes of <i>placaly, foutou, kabata, athiéké, foufou</i> and <i>alloco</i> for 6€ each. These names may mystify you. Me too. So I decided to look them up.

<b>Placaly</b> – an Ivorian dish of fermented manioc served with okra sauce
<b>Foutou</b> – balls of manioc, plantain banana and yam in peanut sauce
<b> Kabata</b> – I drew a complete blank on this one, so we had better call it “la surprise du chef”
<b>Athiéké</b> – manioc with tomatoes, onions and meat
<b>Foufou</b> – boiled plantains with red palm oil, garlic, chilies, tomatoes
<b>Alloco</b> – plantain fries with fish and onions

Chez Zeyna: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...friq%20007.jpg

Crossing the bridge over the train tracks (you can see up to five or six trains crossing under you in the two minutes it takes to cross the bridge, including the Eurostar and the Thalys), you can’t miss <b>Holly Hood</b> at 22 rue Doudeauville. When it isn’t raining, the owner often sits on a chair outside, brightening the street with a wide smile of gold teeth framed by his braided hair. He’s a really nice guy and everybody greets him even if some of us have no intention of buying costumes for appearing in black music videos.

Holly Hood: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...friq%20005.jpg

In the next block at 42 is one of the food stores, <b>Canaan Exo</b> with products “<i>from the land of milk and honey</i>.” Other shops like this will now be found about every 10 meters along the street. We also begin to encounter some of the multitude of fabric and dress shops, for example <b>Kheweul</b> at 17 or <b>La Beauté des Femmes – Couture de Paris</b> at 31, not forgetting <b>Kumasi Market</b> at 39bis, which has huge bolts of beautiful wax, bazin and java fabrics piled in its window.

Kheweul: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...friq%20003.jpg

La Beauté des Femmes: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20001.jpg

It you are feeling out of your comfort zone in this very safe area, I will point out that there is a <b>police station</b> at 50 rue Doudeauville, and that the former Minister of the Interior and mayor of the 18th arrondissement, Daniel Vaillant, lives just half a block away on rue Ernestine and has always made it a point of honor to stay in this neighborhood where he has lived for decades.

kerouac

<b>Rue Léon</b> is a good place to turn left now, although it is perfectly fine to continue to Boulevard Barbès along rue Doudeauville if you are in a hurry or have lost interest. Rue Léon has a little bit of non-African fame because it has several alternative venues, such as the <b>Olympic Café</b> at 20 or <b>L’Omadis</b> at 29. Until recently, the <b>LMP</b> (for <i>Lavoir Moderne Parisien</i>, an old wash house converted into a theatre) at 35 rue Léon was very well known for two reasons – its extremely avant-garde plays often performed by major actors in spite of having only 80 seats and also the fact that it became the headquarters and home of the <b>Ukranian Femen</b> movement in political exile for several years (http://femen.org). Unfortunately, there was a fire in the building last year, and the theatre was evicted after 29 years. As one of only two theatres in the <i>Goutte d’Or</i>, it is sorely missed.

Of course, Africa remains the principal theme of rue Léon, so you can find both <b>Délices du Togo</b> and a <b>Senegalese restaurant</b> at number 25, just across from <b>Francecongorama</b>, which is actually a freight forwarder. At 19, is the “temporary” <b>Institut des Cultures d’Islam</b>, a cultural center operated by the city of Paris. It opened in 2005 while awaiting the construction of the two more prestigious centers on rue Stephenson and on rue des Poissonniers. The rue Stephenson address opened in 2013 while the other one is still under construction. In any case, the old address is still the location of the <b>Café d’ICI</b> and the restaurant <b>La Table Ouverte</b>. The restaurant proposes meals with a starter, a main dish (usually a couscous stew) and an espresso for 10€, or just 5€ for customers over the age of 60. It has a main room but also an outdoor patio in back and is staffed by people learning to become social workers. The tables are communal.

Turn right onto <b>rue de Panama</b> and follow the fork to the left after a few meters which will put you on <b>rue de Suez</b>. The ambience begins immediately at number 3 with the <b>Suez Bazar</b>. There are so many incredible things overflowing into the street from this tiny place that I have no idea how they manage to stuff everything back inside when closing for the day. At number 4, one can wonder about the meaning behind the name of <b>Moungali Poto-Poto La Gare-Total</b>. It sells groceries next door to the <b>Boucherie du Monde</b> at 6 which specializes in hooves and oxtail. While I do buy oxtail from time to time, I have never determined what I can do with a hoof. Then there are times when the products sold no longer have anything to do such as at <b>Caprice Cosmetique</b> at 10. It is a greengrocer now but perhaps sold beauty products at some time in the past.

Boucherie du Monde http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20008.jpg

Caprice Cosmetique http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20009.jpg

At 14 is <b>Vingtekhong</b> which sells African groceries but which is operated by Southeast Asians. This used to be very common before the Africans began to open their own shops.

Just a few steps more, and you will arrive at the <b>rue Déjean</b> market street. We’ll come back to it in a minute.

Approaching rue Déjean: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20010.jpg

There is some more exploring to do. Back on the corner of rue Doudeauville and rue Stephenson is the elegant new building for the <b>Institut des Cultures Islam</b>. It is a fine example of how jurists can solve all sorts of problems – such as how do you put a mosque in a municipal building in a country where the separation of religion and state totally forbids any government financing of any religious edifice built after 1905? Well, very simply, the city built the ICI with one floor too many, leaving it totally unfinished with no walls. And then they sold the empty floor to an Islamic association for 2 million euros, giving the association the freedom to do whatever it liked with the space. Problem solved. The other floors contain exhibitions of modern art from Islamic countries and also a hammam.

Entrance of the ICI: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20002.jpg

Two façades, one of rue Doudeauville and one on rue Stephenson: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20006.jpg

Rue Stephenson is another lively African street, but we just need to walk two short blocks along it to reach <b>rue Myrha</b>.

Au Bonheur des Dames, rue Stephenson: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...Afriq20001.jpg

I used to call rue Myrha “<i>the worst street in all of Paris</i>” but it is no longer true. More than half of the old buildings have been demolished and replaced by social housing and student residences. Some of the nicer old buildings are being saved, such as the one at 5 rue Myrha but the remarkable atmosphere of the street has not changed at all, even if the old <b>Church of the Nazarene</b> at number 36 is now abandoned and probably awaiting demolition.

5 rue Myrha awaiting renovation: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20022.jpg

Remains of the Church of the Nazarene: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20019.jpg

<b>La Ferme Parisienne</b> still claims to sell live chickens at 26 rue Myrha. They used to be displayed in the front window, but that is clearly forbidden now. Although most of the creatures are probably sold to people who only want the freshest products even if they have to kill them themselves, I am quite sure that some of them must be used by the marabouts in their black magic ceremonies.

La Ferme Parisienne: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20021.jpg

Right next door at 28 is a <b>mosque</b>. The street used to completely fill with prayer rugs on Friday, but the city put an end to that with the opening of the new mosque in the cultural center and also a huge mosque that has been installed in disused military buildings near Porte de Clignancourt.

<b>Binta Africa</b> at 46 rue Myrha has always impressed me as being perhaps the biggest fire trap on the street, but it has been there for decades apparently without incident. Finally at 76, there is <b>Djerba Cacher</b>, an old Tunisian Jewish restaurant, all formica and fluorescent lights.

Binta Africa: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20016.jpg

Djerba Cacher: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20013.jpg

You can continue along rue Myrha to boulevard Barbès or you can take rue des Poissonniers back towards rue Déjean to see the market.

Rue des Poissonniers: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20012.jpg

the entrance to rue Déjean: http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...utte%20011.jpg

Perhaps the most amazing thing about an African market street such as this one is the discovery that there are so many fish markets, selling huge and ferocious fish that most of us don’t recognize, and others that we do, such as barracuda, swordfish or shark. A lot of the beef on sale seems to be totally mixed pieces that could make anybody become a vegetarian. However, since it is all destined to be stewed for hours and hours, I’m sure that the end result is fine.

The market is almost always crowded with black market vendors as well, selling oversized sunglasses and belt buckles, unknown herbs and fruits, plastic brushes and combs… The police sweep through at least 5 times a day to send everybody scurrying, but they are all back within 10 minutes. Right now and for the next two months, the main item for sale is corn on the cob, which is consumed in astounding amounts. At the end of the day it is very difficult to walk on any of these streets without corncobs rolling under your shoes.

Anyway, rue Déjean also ends at <b>boulevard Barbès</b>, and if I keep mentioning that street, it is because Montmartre starts right on the other side of the street, as you will have noticed walking up any of the streets from east to west, because you will often see the domes of Sacré Coeur in the distance. In any case, all of the streets on the other side of the boulevard go uphill, so it is impossible to get lost.

<b>Metro Château Rouge</b> is located there, and it is the most overcrowded station in the city, with just one entrance and far too many passengers. It is going to close for at least a year (probably 2016) to enlarge the ticket and turnstile area and to create new exits on the other side of the boulevard. This will not solve the problem of “too many passengers,” however, which will be resolved only when the city makes good on its promise to create large new “exotic” market, probably near the Rosa Parks RER station in the 19th arrondissement. The RER station will open in December 2015. Africans currently come from the entire Paris metropolitan area to converge at Château Rouge and the growing population has made the current situation impossible.

So, that is my report on an area that you are unlikely to read about in many of the guidebooks and which will only interest a few of you at best, but at least the information is out there now.

For anybody with a continued interest in the subject, I made two photo reports in the past, one simply called <b>Africa in Paris</b> -- http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...e-africa-paris -- and another which is a personal favorite about when I happened upon an African fashion show directly in front of the <b>Eglise Saint Bernard</b> in the area. <b>The Emperor of Château Rouge</b>: http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/thread/4512

Adelaidean

Fascinating walk through Paris, thank you.
We now have a fabulously rich cultural mix in Adelaide (Australia), but when my parents first arrived here over 50 years ago they were dismayed by the food (white bread, cheddar cheese, Sunday dinner was invariably potatoes and carrots with roast lamb, bread and butter pudding).

Sassafrass

Thank you, thank you.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Okay kerouac. I'll finish reading all of this later but what a great report. I remember when I moved here years ago and had to take French lessons and my class was filled with people from Sri Lanka and we spent a whole class discussing this area one day and all the great restaurants that could be found in this area because at least 3 or 4 of my classmates worked in restaurants here. I won't get into the horrors they faced as they had to make their way to France (like watching half their group get gunned down by the Russian mafia while walking through waist deep snow) but I've befriended some of the flower selling guys who come into my bar and have learned about what life is like for them. I've got a few of my own favorite cheapo restaurants in this area but thanks for giving me so many more I must check out. Let's do dinner some time and then pub quiz afterwards.

Coquelicot

kerouac, you have outdone yourself with this.

Mathieu

I too haven't read through the whole thing, just bits of the beginning of chapters - and I definitely will read it all when I have the time - but it is a wonderful report and kudos to you for making it.... and educating/informing people of this extraordinary part of Paris that, as you say, few will ever see.

I can attest to its truth and splendour as I always make it a point to visit and spend a few repeat hours in this area every time I visit Paris and it is exactly as you describe.
So many tourists and locals I've spoken to tell me they find it threatening and dodgy - but I couldn't disagree more. (It may be some thinly veiled fear of the unfamiliar or even prejudice.) For me it's always such a colourful and vibrant area of Paris; having lived in Africa, and being somewhat familiar with India, I'm acquainted with most everything I see in this area and I love the sights, smells, scents and array of exotic vegetables, spices and delicious street food to be found here. The people and their dress and clothing are as colourful as their wares.

I must credit a Frenchman who is a friend and who lives in the midst of this area, one street away from Rue Myrah, for introducing me to this part of the 18th, and for giving me a tour of the area on our way to Gare du Nord one Tuesday afternoon in October. Now to visit him and to catch up eating in one of the African restaurants accounts for at least one visit to the area each trip, and a visit to Paris is not complete for me without a couple of stops here.

In fact the last time I was in Paris in 2012, I hosted a cocktail party for 8 in the apartment I was renting in the 14th, and came to this area of the 18th to shop for all the ingredients I needed for the food I planned to make. I knew I'd find everything I needed there and I did with no trouble. (FMT, I may have told you about that when we met... can't remember now. Hope you are well. Was thinking about you just last week. PM to follow).

Thanks again for the report. And yes, Saravana Bhavan is a somewhat global 'chain'. There is one I've been to twice in the city of Mississauga which is next door to Toronto, and I was surprised to find one in East London as I ran past to catch a train to my aunts house.

di2315

Thanks, kerouac - another great ramble to add to my Paris 'to do' list, Di

Wit_Van_Brug

A tour de force. Thank you, Kerouac!

manouche

We loved reading all of this report, and enjoyed the photos, too.

Self-respecting Anglophone tourists would not likely find themselves anywhere within a stone's throw of any of the areas mentioned - and more's the pity.

We have been attending the Ganesh festival every year since we moved to Paris. Wandering around and getting lost in these unfamiliar neighborhoods soon became a weekend habit.

Aside from some Haussmannien buildings, none of these areas - or the people in them - bear any resemblance to anything remotely "Parisien". But as kerouac explained, there are more real Parisiens here than in the Marais, Latin Quarter or Champs-Elysees put together - since those places have become overrun by non-French tourists.

The "Disney-fied" version of Paris is what most tourists expect to see - neat, clean, just like in the movies. Good - I hope tourists who have that kind of unrealistic world view stay right there, where they belong. God forbid they should run into any real human beings on their trip of a lifetime.

Thank you kerouac for reminding us that not everyone can afford a trans-Atlantic flight to follow their dreams - and that some people are literally dying to get to Paris.

kerouac

Thank you to all who have had the patience to read it. While the central tourist area near the Seine will always be wildly popular, I do like to point out that there are many things in Paris which many visitors never imagined.

f1racegirl

Excellent post kerouac. Have you visited En Vrac yet? My landlord and her partner liked the wine - and the price, so much she's traveled back from the 14th to get more.

I've mostly traveled "through" the neighborhood, but plan to take some more time to explore it. And I plan to be at the Ganesh parade in 2 weeks.

pariswat

Must say that I used to say I didn't like the 10th.
Ker made me open my eyes on this area and I started to like it. Now with such reports nobody has an excuse for not liking it...
mvg

FrenchMystiqueTours

I'm sure kerouac can post his own threads about the Ganesha festival but here is one that I did. Be sure to check out trance guy:

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...in-2011?page=1

rialtogrl

Kerouac, this is an amazing thread of info you've put together for everyone here. Informative, funny, well-written - thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to write it. I am going to share it with all my Paris loving friends.

BRAVO.