Favorite Paris Markets
 

What are your favorite markets in Paris? What draws you there? What is available there? Can you buy your gifts/souvenirs there? If so, what can you buy?

I realy liked Rue Cler until I saw and fell in love with Rue Montorgueil. These are mainly streets for buying food and sitting at cafe's enjoying the sights. Rue Di Rivoli has a lot of souvenir shops which are fun to browse in I do most of my serious souvenir and gift shopping at Galleries Lafayette and Bon Marche. Great gourmet food sections in both stores. They have lotions and candles and things that every body loves. My other favorites fro shopping are Hediard's a Fouchon's.

Another special gift I bring back is the homemade jam I get at Valentin's in the passage Jeoffrey.

My mother and I loved Rue des Belles Feuilles in the 16th arr. during our trip in late April. We didn't eat in any restaurants -- would just run to the market each afternoon to stop by the individual shops for gorgeous fresh produce, fresh bread, pastries, cheese, roti chicken, fresh seafood, etc. The locals shop at MONOPRIX grocery stores (you'll see them everywhere) where you can buy all the fancy name brand foods as souvenirs/gifts. Have fun!

I like the markets because they are not something I see much at home, they are very colorful and picturesque, and it is fun to see the customers and dealers interact. I see food, especially fish and some vegetables, that I've never seen or heard of before.

Here is a nice article about several of them:
http://travel.independent.co.uk/low_...t=2&dir=36

Marche Allegre by the Bastille - tres animated! But mainly food.

I love REAL markets! Aligre ,Monge, Montorgueil are great but my very favorites are Richar Lenoir on sundays an d Saxe-Breteuil on saturdays...vendors from all parts of France come in and set up..not like Cler or Buci where it is just the shops setting up stands outside.

I just like the ambiance , gifts and souvenirs, if I even buy them, I buy elsewhere..to me marketd are for FOOD!

Check Amazon or eBay for a copy of Paris in a Basket..wonderful guide, and recipes!! I've recognized and spoken with some of the vendors featured!

Mouffetard! I walked there ever[y morning foru frsh strwberries and raspberries, cheeses and bread. The vendors were so much fun to chat with, and they suggested all kinds of walks I could take. I didn't care as much four Monge, but if you want fresh fish, it looks like the place to go- and there is a marvelous basket and wicker shop across from the market.

While going to Notre Dame on Sunday I stumbled into the bird market which is an every-Sunday event. It was quite the spectacle.

I passed thru the Monge market 3 times last week, I was always on my way to the Metro so I didnt buy anything. But it looked interesting.

Rue Cler didn't really impress me, considering the way Rick Steves made it seem like it was the be-all and end-all of markets. I liked the Montorgueil and Mouffetard markets a lot more. I also came upon a market in Montparnasse on Blvd. Edgar Quinet on my way to the cemetery. There were vendors selling clothes and crafty stuff in addition to the food vendors. It's worth a look.

The Rue Mouffetard is a street of small markets on the Left Bank, south of the Pantheon. On Sunday mornings at the bottom of the street, a group of people get together to sing French folksongs. Everyone is welcome and songsheets are available. There are lovely bakeries, fruit and vegetable markets, cheese shops, meat markets, prepared foods etc, as well as a very good health food store. Souvenir and gift shops, interesting jewelrey shops and boutiques abound. There are lots outdoor cafes. Restaurants too, but they tend to be overpriced. We stayed in the Rue Mouffetard neighbourhood for 3 weeks this April and for the month of Sept, 2003. It's a wonderful place to be!

We like Pl. Monge on Sundays best. Since we stay near rue Cler we also go there a lot. For a good flea market don't forget Vanves on the weekends.

Can someone list which arrondissement these are in or any sites that are close to them or metro stops...Thanks

Poppys: Do you know what time the singing takes place? Thanks.

For the Rue Mouffetard market, it is in the 5th Arrondissement; the closest metro is Censier and Dubenton (one stop south of Place Monge) on the #7 line. The singers on Sunday morning are there around 10 and they continue til at least 12.

I stayed in a great apartment on rue Mouffetard all last week. Cute street, so many places to eat, drink, shop. Place de la Contrascarpe was hopping into the wee hours every night.

There are actually two kinds of "markets" in Paris: the permanent ones, which are more or less pedestrian streets with shops whose stalls are displayed on the sidewalk (rues de Buci, Mouffetard, Cler, de Lévis, Poncelet, du Ruisseau, Dejean, etc. ) and actual street markets that take place two or three times a week, from 8h00 to 13h00. Their full list, time and location are available on www.paris.fr under "marchés".

As supermarkets, I used to shop at the local Monoprix. They sell everything! I wouldn't recommend trying their fruits or vegetables (they aren't that fresh). I also liked the farmers market on Fridays on the Boulevard Raspail (metro: Rennes or Saint Placide). If you want to get good meats at a decent price, I would recommend Chevy (not the Tex-Mex restaurant chain...), which is on Avenue du General Leclerc at Alésia metro stop. You can probably find postcards and souvenirs at any "tabac" or tabacco shops. Suzanne2, I agree with you that the Rue de Rivoli has a lot of souvenir shops. If you want the best bread, try a "retrodor" bread from the Boulangerie Maillard at 42 rue Jacob in the 6th (Metro Saint Germain des Prés; intersection of Rue Saint Benoît and Rue Jacob). We used to have fresh bread from that bakery every day, and since I've moved back to the States, I really miss it...

I love Paris markets. Try to start each day I'm there (except Monday when there are no markets) at a market somewhere. That way I get into new neighborhoods and explore things I might not see otherwise. My favorite book is a hardcover coffee table type (but only $20) book called Paris in a Basket. It provides pictures, history and stories about the markets and the people who sell in them in all the arrondissements of Paris.

Inbetween, I have done my homework and fished out the actual URL of the Paris city hall site that lists all street markets, their days and hours of business:

http://www.paris.fr/portail/marches_parisiens/ then, click on the "fruits et légumes" link (unless you also want to have a look at the "marché aux puces" ones! )

I couldn't get that link to work but this one did:

http://www.paris.fr/portail/marches_...ches_parisiens

Thank you , Art, for the info. Very nice list.

One time I was in Paris and came across on market that also had French Frabics from Provence. It was near Le Halles, on a square. Have to see if I can figure out which one it was.

Many will have them. Richard Lenoir is one. Also look up in Montmartre on the street up to the funiculaire.

Julie and I like the very same book...I picked mine up on ebay for under $10.00 and it's worth 10 times that to me!

A friend sent me this article this morning from The Independent...which has a great travel section BTW..

http://travel.independent.co.uk/low_...t=2&dir=36

ttt

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The misinformation on this thread practically has me rolling around laughing on the floor.

Then please clear it up, Kerouac. Some of us take anything written on Fodor's as gospel.

(That request for clarification is not snide, BTW. We'll be in Paris in October, and I have had this thread in my notes for some time.)

:-)

The BHV has great areas for home improvement, and even has a hidden little cafe that looks like a workshop. La Samaritaine used to be similar but then it got snooty (thanks, LVMH), and now it's closed.

Dangerous places for me are the FNAC or Surcouf, since I like computers, cameras, and A/V gadgets and related stuff.

Monoprix is everywhere. It's a very ordinary supermarket chain in France—however, it's exactly the place to go if you want to see local French people and the kinds of things they buy. If you want fancy grocery shopping indoors, go to La Grande Epicerie at Le Bon Marché, or try the smaller gourmet food halls at Galeries Lafayette or Printemps.

Here is the official list of Paris street markets and their operating days and hours: http://tinyurl.com/kd4hd

This is not to be confused with market streets like Cler or Montorgueil.

You might want to note that there are far more markets in the outer arrondissements than in the center of Paris, where are few markets continue to survive by selling items to tourists for double the price. I'm not surprised that a lot of people find Paris to be expensive.

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Thank you for that list, Kerouac! I will add it to my Paris Notes.

:-)

kerouac:

To my observation, most tourists visiting markets in Paris are wandering through for a look, some purchasing "picnic" foods.

If the "few markets continue to survive by selling items to tourists for double the price", where do the people who live in Paris shop for their food?

Are they paying inflated tourist prices? If not for the tourists, would they have no place to shop?

There are very few residents in the center of Paris compared to the outer arrondissements. They pay the price for living there -- or they shop elsewhere.

For example, the population of the 1st arrondissement has dropped from 89,519 in 1861 (highest recorded population) to about 16,000. The population of the 15th arrondissement (the most heavily populated) is about 230,000. Nevertheless, it too has gone down from the high point in 1862 when it was 250,551. In any case, it has more shopping opportunities than the center.

A link in English:

http://www.v1.paris.fr/en/living/markets/default.ASP

If you want to make your life easy although the maps and metro do make getting around Paris easy enough - do yourself a favour - take a tom tom or navman navigator along. You will have no problem finding anything even when you are walking. Enjoy the markets.

According to <i>Le petit parisien</i>, a Paris street and transportation guide which includes the ambulatory march&eacute;s information, there are no such march&eacute;s in the first and second arrondissements. I would consider a march&eacute; such as the one on the Place Maubert--5th arrondissement-- to be for the local population and not just for the tourists.

The markets are for Parisians, for heaven's sake, and as DJKBooks says, &quot;we&quot; wander through them for the local flavor, the gorgeous displays of vegetables, the endless numbers of olives, the steaming choucroute garnie on the burner, etc. Oh, and to buy tinned foie gras.
I have also bought darling smocked dresses for our granddaughters at less than they were in the shops. Our DDIL bought a ski jacket at Richard Lenoir one time when it turned cold and she needed one--I think it was $12. I just don't have ANY idea where she could have gotten it for $6, but Kerouac, please do tell us.

Tati (www.tati.fr) at Barb&egrave;s Rochechouart would have been a good place to look for the $6 jacket... Its prices put Wal-Mart to shame.

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