Rue Cler????
 

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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~:D

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?

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;.

((I))

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.

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

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

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

Rue Cler is my weekly coffee and croissant stop before I fly back to US. I love sitting down early in the morning and have my coffee and pastry and read the Wall Street journal. The locals are very friendly and the shops are true authentic Parisian. There are a lot of other streets in Paris that are magnificient, all you need to do is walk and get lost. You will can always grab a cab.

&quot;Hearing more English than French spoken on it sometimes is a little disconcerting&quot; - Oh please, get over yourself!

&quot;All you need is to walk and get lost. You can always get a cab&quot;??

Sounds like you haven't been to Paris very much, despite the implications of your post. Paris has the finest system of public transport in the world, and Parisians do not take taxis except in very specific circumstances; they use the bus and M&eacute;tro for everything.

And rue Clear is less and less &quot;authentic&quot; every day, thanks to Rick Steeves. There are many streets in Paris that are at least as charming as rue Cler (and now even more so, since Rick has poisoned that particular street), but since Rick Steeves apparently doesn't know that, he waxes praiseful in his book for several pages on this one street alone.

Finally, you don't need to use any transportation to get to other streets in Paris if you just find a hotel there in the first place. You don't have to stay in a hotel next to the sacred cobblestones of the rue Cler.

Some people just need to understand that being jealous is all right, just keep it to yourself. The REAL locals in Paris do not have a problem with RS, he actually brings business to the community but wannabe locals will always act like it's an annoyance for them to see other people enjoying the city with their RS book with them. Also, If you do not like being in Rue Cler, then go someplace else,the real locals do mind the tourist. You already mentioned that most of the people in Paris are tourist.

You are right, AnthonyGA, I haven't been in Paris very much, I am just fortunate that my job allows me to travel to the City of Light on a weekly basis and staying there for a couple of days or so for the last 18 years and did I mention to you that my office is a B747.

The &quot;real&quot; locals like RS if they happen to operate businesses that he promotes in his book; otherwise they are likely to be indifferent or not very happy. I'm among those who are not very happy, since I don't like to see crowds of clueless tourists accumulating in any one area. The less clueless tourists don't like that, either. Not much point in visiting a place if the only people you see are other persons from home who are holding the same guide book you are.

If your office is a B747, you're probably a member of a flight crew. Airline crews coming through Paris know about as much about the city as I know about Osaka. I know that there is a common perception that flight attendants and pilots are expert on any number of exotic foreign destinations, but the reality is otherwise.

Anyway, I am sure the rue Cler merchants will soon erect a statue to Mr Rick Steeves, who was also received by the 7th arrondissement mayor and got thanks for his huge advertising of the place!

However, as a local, I do think rue Cler is a nondescript shopping street in a rather dull upper middle class neighbourhood, which from a tourist point of view has only the merit of being close to the Eiffel tower.

trudaine, I will be visiting soon. Can you tell me your preferences and recommendations for tourists?

To Iregeo :

If you are interested in seeing a neighbourhood shopping street (I mean a street with Paris's remaining independently-owned food shops like butcher's, fishmongers,etc) Parisians go to, I would preferably choose the outer arrondissements, that is the non touristic ones : among which rue Daguerre (14th), rue du commerce or rue de la Convention (15th) rue de Levis (17th), rue Lepic and rue des Abbesses (18th), to console yourself once you have fled the awful tourist trap that is Place du Tertre in Montmartre, rue des Martyrs (9th) just downhill from Montmartre, the Place Gambetta neighbourhood (20th.).

The ones you may have heard about (rue Mouffetard, rue de Buci, and now even the very &quot;bobo-ised&quot; rue Montorgueil are what I would call &quot;semi-touristic&quot;).

Try to be there on a Saturday morning, when these places are at their busiest, and you'll see the Parisians with their little shopping trolleys!

Over by the Michel-Ange Auteuil metro stop on Place Lorrain, there is a beautiful open air food market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, sometimes with live music. And if you walk about a block from there down Rue La Fontaine you will come to the small streets of rue Lepage and rue Guerin which hold several family owned and run food shops (cheese, fish, butcher, etc). You could continue down La Fontaine to see some beautiful Art Nouveau buildings or walk up Ave. Mozart to the Jasmin metro area and again, there are several independent food stores there along with cafes and restaurants. And nary a RS book or acolyte in sight (not that there's anything wrong with that).

One of Paris' most unusual markets is at Place Allegre - near the Bastille. It's i think the only Parisian market that is open to &quot;forains&quot; or itinerant marketeers -
The marchands are very animated - yelling out prices, etc. And there, perhaps due to the nature of the sellers, an atmosphere of intrigue - i had a camcorder and more than one merchant waved no-no no photos. So a little intimidating perhaps but one of the most lively markets i've seen in Paris.

We felt the same way about the market at the foot of Rue Mouffetard. After hiking uphill forever to get to the top of the street we were so disappointed in the general atmosphere and the market wasn't anything special either. We found a wonderful market somewhere around Blvd. St. Michel or Blvd. St. Germain. Can't remember where exactly.

The only market I've really spent any time in is the one at Place Aligre--loved it, very busy and hectic the experience made mincemeat of what I like to think of as my French. We did most of our shopping there for Christmas dinner.

I have walked through Rue Cler a couple of times. Cute enough, but it's no Place Aligre. But I'm not a fan of the 7th anyway; it feels stodgy to me. Isn't there a nice place to buy chocolates there?

I guess my point was unless you're really excited about markets, a market is a market is...

We liked Place Aligre becasue it felt vibrant and didn't seem upscale or overly santized (i know, I know, that sounds bad :) ). But mainly it was a convenient place to buy food we needed for our apartment. I'd probably be disappointed with any market I had trekked across the city for.

I'll be happy to enlight you about Osaka. Anyway, AnthonyGa, you are right about RS recommending certain streets rather than the broad area of Paris. No matter how we feel about RS, people will continue to use his guides and we cannot do anything about it but to live by it and enjoy Paris. BTW, I have the best seat at my office and I don't have to mingle with my co-workers. Anybody willing to buy a nice apartment near Champ Elysee's? It's my second home for the last 18 years.

Trudaine,

In October we happened upon the market on rue Daguerre (actually as we waited for the Catacombes to open).

Everything looked so good, and there I was with no kithcen!

Byrd

One of the advantages of going with an apartment or an apartment-hotel is that you can cook your own meals, which gives you an excuse to go to the open markets to buy food. Of course, this isn't persuasive for everyone, but when you stroll through the markets and realize you have no place to cook in a regular hotel room, it's a bit disappointing.

I detect a whale captain on this B747; that's certainly the best seat in the office, and about the only one that could pay for a <i>pied-&agrave;-terre</i> in the City of Light. But pilots are actually the <i>least</i> sophisticated when it comes to foreign destinations among air crews&mdash;because pilots get jobs as pilots out of a desire to fly airplanes, not out of a desire to travel. For many of them, going to foreign countries is a necessary evil they must tolerate in order to fly planes, not an interesting perk. Anyone who just wants to travel is much better off becoming a flight attendant: less pay, sure, but less training necessary, and more flexibility and opportunity to travel with fewer restrictions.

I'm not sure if airline crews are better sources of information than Rick Steves. Probably not, unless you want a recommendation for a single hotel and a single restaurant near the hotel in each of thirty different major cities.

I have to chuckle when someone says a market is nothing special: What would make it special? Clowns? Trick Ponies?

RS has to mention the Paris markets, and he happend to pick Rue Cler. Big deal. So people read about it and want to see it, what's wrong with that? The same thing would have happend if he mentioned any other market.

The problem is that RS nowhere indicates that the rue Cler is typical; on the contrary, he makes it sound like it is something unique and extremely special in Paris, when in fact it's like a zillion other streets in the city. So all his groupies descend on that one little street, and ignore the many other nearly identical streets.

You all just need to buy or read &quot; Paris in a Baskit&quot;

That is a great book Jody, but all they want to do here is blame RS for a crowded street and pretend they wouldn't be caught dead any place where they might see a (gasp) TOURIST!