PalQ

After hearing so much about Rue Cler being so wondrous, thanks to Rick Steves, i finally tracked it down last December and though i found it mildly interesting and novel i couldn't see why it would rank as more than a nice blip amongst many nice blips in Paris.
I found a few blocks of mainly food stores with veggies, meats, etc. display on outdoor tables in front - looked like upscale specialty shops - the street was pleasant because it was pedestrian - at least the day i was there.
what did i miss? was there a market some days that was animated - never heard there was.
What's so freaking great about Rue Cler?

highledge

PalQ-
I LOVE food markets of all shapes and sizes. London farmers' markets- one on Wed one on Sunday. I get most of my shopping done. Borough superb!! Various markets in other french cities- fab!!
And Rue Cler?? Well not so great in my opinion. We had our worst meal there and it just wasn't so great to me either.

jody

When you find out PalQ let me know. too..with so many interesting markets..Richard Lenoir, saxe-Breteuil, quinet..it pales. To me it is just a bunch of stores with sidewalk displays.

tcreath

I agree. We stayed at the Hotel du Champ de Mars, near Rue Cler, in November. We stayed there because the price was right. Rue Cler was fine, but I didn't really think it was any better (or worse) than many other streets in Paris. And we too had our worst meal on Rue Cler, at Tribeca.

Tracy

SAnParis

I did have one of the best cups of hot chocolate in my life there...It is a fine place to shop, not necessarily to dine. I would think it would appeal more to those of us who like to cook while in Paris. Per my wife it was also show-cased on "The Bachelor" this week.

suze

you didn't miss a thing. it is a nice street like many many others in the city, with all the rick steves hype working possibly to its detriment.

we had a wonderful lunch there one day only because we were walking between Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe and it seemed in the neighborhood so we stopped in.

grantop

I don't think that it was ever intended to be a "be all, end all". Steves mentioned it and the legend took on a life of it's own.

richardab

Yeah I think rue Cler is pretty lackluster but still interesting to walk on.

DanM

We stayed in one of the Paris Perfect apartments around the corner from Rue Cler last March. I would wake up, make coffee, and go for a walk. It was nice to walk down the street while the stores were preparing for the day ahead and I was the only person walking down the street. The smell and hustle first thing in the morning was neat, but not worth a special trip. Nothing unique about it, but it was a nice way for me to start the morning.

Christina

Steves more than just mentioned it, he has really highlighted it a lot in his books and his TV show.

It isn't my favorite market street in Paris, but I think it was just Rick Steves' attempt to find a small market street where his readers/English-speakers can feel comfortable and rue Cler probably fit the target more than many others because it is in an upscale neighborhood and there are a lot of English-speakers British and American expats in that quartier. Also, rue Cler is the closest market street like that to the Eiffel Tower, which is going to have to be big for tourists, and is a fairly convenient place for tourists to stay as it's not too far from things by public transport. Also, the hotels in that area generally were priced a little lower than comparable places in the 4th-6th arrondisements, so he could find some budget places to recommend.

I think all those things together made it a place for him to suggest in his guides and TV shows, and I think for many people, that can make sense. I think it's better than only knowing the most touristy or expensive and business-like areas of Paris. Without Rick Steves, some of the people who use his guidebook for Paris might never see a neighborhood like that (although I suppose they might run across the rue de Buci market street.

PalQ

Christina:

I think you've hit it on the head. Veteran Paris travelers will have seen many such delightful streets but the novice traveler who traipses from major sight to major sight may never get to such quaint streets - and thus Rick Steves helps them do it. But like you say, or i think you said, it wouldn't matter which of many such streets the novice tourist found, they would find them delightful as those type of tourists, which we all were at one time, rarely venture off the main beaten path. Good comments.

Intrepid1

Well Pal, considering the lack of popularity of some countries/cities in &quot;central&quot; Europe as evidenced here I'd say there are a lot of folks who are still <b>that kind</b> of traveler.

It is interesting that we haven't seen a lot of Rue Cler posts here lately but that may be for the same reason we don't hear a lot about truly ultra expensive and exclusive hotels since the people who stay in those probably don't inhabit this sort of site very often.

StCirq

The hotel I usually stay at in Paris is about 3 blocks from rue Cler. I'm usually in Paris for 3-4 nights on my way back from the south, and if I catch my usual United #915 1 pm flight back to DC, on that last morning I usually walk up and down rue Cler, sometimes stopping for a coffee. It's a nice last reminder of Paris before I leave, but there's absolutely nothing special about it. And hearing more English than French spoken on it sometimes is a little disconcerting to me.

Madison

And all this time I thought it was just me that was a little underwhelmed by Rue Cler market. I'm sure had I not read so much hype on it I wouldn't have felt the disappointment that I did.

It is still a very charming, quiet street.

Scarlett

We stayed in the ParisPerfect apartment on the corner of rue Cler &amp; rue Grenelle. So we would pick up croissants each morning for breakfast and usually browse the market for afternoon tea ( La Notre) and fruit at the stands.
Food markets are not &quot;my thing&quot; in Paris but it was a charming way to pretend we lived there for a week.
<i>What's so freaking great about Rue Cler?</i>
Well, if you have to shop for food, I would rather do it on rue Cler than, say, Grand Union~

I had breakfast the day we arrived at the cafe that I don't remember the name of and it was terrible..how can a Frenchman ruin an omelet?

ira

Hi Pal,

Next time, go up to the Rue Montorgueil.

&quot;My Lady Wife, having greatly enjoyed Sarah Turnbull's &quot;Almost French&quot;, we took the Metro Strasbourg St Denis and walked down to and through the Passage St. Foy (remnants of the old city wall) to Rue Aboukir. This is the garment district. Lots of flounced skirts and bright colors.

We took Aboukir to Petit Carreaux and turned left to get to Rue Montorgueil. A perfect shopping street with many, many cafes. Great diversity of faces, colors, clothes and languages. O and Co was having a 1/2 price sale on its 2005 Moulin de l'Olivette olive oil from Provence - pleasantly smooth, slightly green with a spicy fillip at the finish - so I bought 2 litres and a little box of saffron&quot;.

Christina

well, I don't think Rick would have steered his readers to place Aligre, he he he

I was thinking from what I said of some other upscale market streets that are nice, also, and are about as close to the Eiffel Tower -- like rue de l'Annonciation in Passy. I quite like that area, but it wouldn't have so many budget hotels and serve the other purposes. Actually, there are a couple budget hotels around Passy metro, so I guess he could have picked something like that -- but, he didn't. Who knows, maybe he had a thing for that woman he tours the cheese shop with on rue Cler.

RonZ

Ira beat me to it with his mention of Rue Montorgueil. This is where Stroher, the oldest patisserie in Paris, is located.

suze

Seattle Times Jan 22, 2006 had a big article in the Travel section including Rue Montorgueil.

MichelleY

In 1990, DH &amp; I went on a wine tour of France. Our host had us stay at the Leveque on Rue Cler. This was before I had even heard of Rick Steves. Our group(6) were the only english speakers at the hotel. The street was pretty much for the locals.

In 1994, we stayed at the Leveque again. Big change. All American tourists staying at the hotel, shops with english speaking staff. Friends of ours have also said it has gotten more &quot;Rick Steves'd&quot;.

BTW - The Bachelor - Paris did their picnic shopping in Mondays episode in this area. Rue Cler???

MY