From reading previous posts, I know there are several areas in Paris with large concentrations of Asian residents. I am looking for the 2 best neighborhoods to visit for a stroll and a meal. I also know that there are Asian restaurants throughout the city, but I'm looking for the interesting ambiance of seeing a neighborhood, not just a single restaurant.

Are there places you would go for the above? What about dinner, then a stroll, or is daytime better?

Thanks for the help, Barb

Well the several block area around the Place d'Italie is what i think locals would call China Town - and there are dozens of Chinese eateries, markets, stores, etc.

Dozens? Hundreds!

However, there are 4 Chinatowns in Paris and 2 in the suburbs.

Is Choisy-le-Roi one of them in the suburbs?

can you tell me where the other three are in Paris and ones in suburbs - i love to go to such areas. thanks

The area around rue des Petits Champs is what I've always thought of as Chinatown in Paris. But there's a "quartier Chinois" In Belleville that I stumbled across last month, too. I'm sure there are more.

I've seen a McDonalds with Chinese on it near Pere Lachaise cemetery and other Asian shops there as well.

The area around Place d/Italie will be convenient for a daytime visit--we are planning a visit to the Natural History Museum, which isn't too far away.

What other neighborhood would be good?
Barb

PalenQ, the main Chinatowns are:

1. The 13th arrondissement, notably the triangle formed by metro stations Olympiades, Tolbiac and Porte d'Ivry -- however it does overlap beyond those areas.

2. The area around metro Belleville, includings bits of the 11th, 19th and 20th arrondissements. Rue de Belleville would be the backbone of this area.

3. Marx Dormoy metro area. This is my neighborhood -- I live in the heart of it. Rue de Torcy is the main street, as well as rue de l'Evangile.

4. The rue au Maire area in the 3rd arrondissement, near metro Arts et Métiers. This is actually the very first and oldest Chinatown in Paris. Also the smallest.

In the suburbs, the gigantic Chinatown is out in Torcy, on the RER line between Paris and Disneyland.

Another Chinatown is in Vitry-sur-Seine, bordering Paris.

I should also mention the Chinagora complex in Maisons-Alfort. Even though it never caught on as it should, this was a major development financed by the People's Republic with a big restaurant and shopping complex and also a big hotel. It is at the confluence of the Seine and the Marne, just outside Paris -- extremely visible from the Autoroute de l'Est.

To get addresses of all of the Chinese areas of Paris, just go shopping at either of the two main Chinese supermarket chains -- Tang Frères or Paris Store. On their bags, they have the addresses of all of their locations, which correspond to the Chinatowns of Paris and the metropolitan region.

Thanks for all the input--I can always count on Fodor's posters for help.
Barb