11th Arrondissement

Start at Parmentier metro station and you’re automatically in the thick of it. Walk slightly uphill on Rue Oberkampf to the intersection of Rue Saint-Maur. Here is something you’ll only find in Paris. The giant graffiti mural known as Le M.U.R. is a public canvas featuring famous street artists including Jef Aérosol, Reko, L’Atlas, Zevs, and Shephard Fairey. The acronym stands for Modulable. Urbain. Réactif.

A stone’s throw from Le M.U.R on Rue Oberkampf is Café Charbon. The vaulted ceilings and 19th century‐style lamps evoke its fin de siécle past and the nonstop service guarantees food or drink at any hour.

After coffee, backtrack towards Le M.U.R. and continue downhill on Rue Oberkampf. Nearby on animated Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud is the Maison des Métallos – an arts center with a social conscience. Check their website for their program of performances, debates, workshops and exhibits.

Walk down Rue Oberkampf past the packed outdoor café terraces. Continue along Oberkampf and make a left onto the small street Rue Neuve Popincourt. To the left you’ll notice a smattering of brocantes or antique shops. Turn right down narrow Rue Ternaux and you will find yourself in a picturesque cobbled square, filled with colorful neighborhood cafés and brocantes.

Find Rue Jacquard and turn right, following it a dozen meters to the Rue Oberkampf. Follow the street downhill to the left. Oberkampf is tightly packed with specialty shops and traiteurs selling foie gras, pâtés, and every conceivable variety of terrine, as well as sweet shops, butchers, and bookstores.

Turn left on verdant Boulevard Richard Lenoir. Tuesdays and Fridays you’ll run into the Marché Popincourt between 7am and 2:30pm – the perfect place to pick up some fresh local produce. Another local favorite market is the Marché Bastille on Thursdays and Sundays from 7am‐2:30pm located further down Boulevard Richard Lenoir. The “farmer’s market” is a daily occurrence throughout Paris. Watch your feet for rolling carts pulled by little old ladies, whiff the cheese mongers and enjoy the boisterous market salesmen.

At the southernmost end of Boulevard Richard Lenoir, the Colonne de Juillet punctures the Place de la Bastille like a trophy of the rebellion.

The area around the Place de la Bastille is filled with snaking streets jammed with tiny bars and quasi‐open boutiques. On the Rue Saint-Sabin check out Auguste for street wear with a hip‐hop slant and the surrounding bars and buzzing cafés.

Exercise your right to shop!

From the Place de la Bastille, follow the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine and turn left onto effervescent Rue de Charonne. Boutiques and cafés line the street. Parisiennes cannot live without the designs of Isabelle Marant (flagship store at number 16). Other independent boutiques include French Trotters and cartoonish concept‐store The Lazy Dog.

Don’t be afraid to wander the little streets between Rue de Charonne and Rue de la Roquette. Uncover the treasure chest of galleries (on Rue Keller), concert halls (folk, funk, and world music at Café de la Danse), and boutiques of new and vintage clothes (on Rue des Taillandiers, Rue Keller, and Passage Thiére). Rest your feet and ogle the hipsters from the terrace of the Pause Café – the colorful locale of Cedric Klapisch’s cult film Chacun Cherche son Chat, or “Everyone is looking for their cat”.

After sunset, there are plenty of delicious dinner spots around the Rue de Charonne. La Muse Vin is a small bistro based on natural and biodynamic wines. The menu is elegant and shares the spotlight with the wine selection. One of the most celebrated restaurants de jour is Septime. If you are lucky enough to score a booking here (it books up weeks to months in advance at the moment) you will enjoy the prix fixe menu delicately prepared with seasonal ingredients by Bertrand Grébaut. If you can’t manage to get a reservation, the ‘little sister’ Septime Cave is located just nearby, where you can drink a number of interesting wines in the little bar, with plates of snacks such as olives or slices of smoked duck breast.

Go north to Oberkampf and find Astier for simple, traditional French brasserie food in a convivial atmosphere. The best‐kept dining secret in Oberkampf is on Rue Amelot and named Le Repaire de Cartouche. The service is legendarily poor, the wines famously outstanding, and the menu passes muster with even the most discerning diner. For special occasions, Basque chef Inaki Aizpitarte’s Chateaubriand is located further towards metro Goncourt on Avenue Parmentier has consistently been voted one of the world’s best restaurants, and if you have trouble getting a reservation, his smaller wine bar with lighter (but no less excellent) food Le Dauphin is a few doors down.

White tablecloths not your style?

Bars string Oberkampf like a line of ants at a picnic. Le Kitch bar lives up to its name spilling out hipsters and draft beer nightly.

Keeping the apéritif ritual alive and well is La Caravane. Cheap drinks and flea market furniture resting on colorful yet haphazardly painted walls make this bar populaire a fun and unpretentious evening hangout. Nearby on Avenue Parmentier, tiny wine shop La Cave du Daron offers carefully selected natural wines, which you can take away or drink by the glass or bottle at their zinc bar, while nibbling on plates of charcuterie and cheese.

If you fancy something other than wine La Fine Mousse has twenty local and international craft beers on tap, and an equally eclectic range by the bottle. Ask the knowledgeable staff for their recommendation – from bacon notes to caramel flavours, there is a brew to suit every palate. Favela Chic is for those who take their partying seriously – a place where free spirited Parisians dance their weekends away. Unselfconscious and unleashed – Sao Paulo meets Paris for a constant carnivale of dance and caipirinhas. Nearer Bastille, Paris does grunge at Tape Bar. With its graffiti covered walls and rock soundtrack, Le Tape has djs several nights a week and if not, they make their own fun.

L’Onzième shows no sign of slowing down. Freelancers crowd the cafes during the day, taking advantage of the free wifi in hordes. Happy hour calls for an apero with your potes (buddies) followed by bar‐crawling the Rue de la Roquette and the Oberkampf area. Street art tattoos the buildings above and below the eye line in the northern part of the crescent. Alleyways play hide‐and‐seek across Bastille, waiting for you to find them.

Welcome to the “people’s Paris”. Vive la révolution!

RESTAURANTS

Astier
44 Rue Jean‐Pierre Timbaud
Ph. 01 43 57 16 35
Hours 7/7 12‐2.15pm, 7pm‐10:30pm (11pm Saturday)
Metro: Parmentier (3)

Café Charbon
109 Rue Oberkampf
Ph. 01 43 57 55 13
Hours 7/7 9am‐2am (Mon, Tues, Sun), 9am-3am (Thurs), 9am-4am (Fri, Sat)
Metro: Parmentier (3)

Cannibale Café
93 Rue Jean‐Pierre Timbaud
Ph. 01 49 29 95 59
Hours 7/7 8am‐2am
Metro: Couronnes (2)

Not exactly kid‐friendly ‐ but ideal for a pre‐party cocktail.

L’Autre Café
62 Rue Jean‐Pierre Timbaud
Ph. 01 40 21 03 07
Hours 7/7 8am‐2am
Metro: Parmentier (3)

The noise level is like eating inside a steel drum during lunchtime, but L’Autre is a great place to read or use the free wifi between meals.

La Caravane
35 Rue de la Fontaine au Roi
Ph. 01 49 23 01 86
Hours 7/7 12pm‐2am
Metro: Goncourt (11)

Keeping the apéritif ritual alive and well. Cheap drinks and flea market furniture resting on colorful yet haphazardly painted walls make La Caravane a fun and unpretentious evening hangout.

La Muse Vin
101 Rue de Charonne
Ph. 01 40 09 93 05
Hours M‐Fri 12-3pm, 5pm‐12am; Sat 5pm-12am
Metro: Charonne (9)

Biodynamic wines and elegant menu in a relaxed and well‐lit ambiance.

Septime
80 Rue de Charonne
Ph. 01 43 67 38 29
Hours M-F 12.15-2pm, 7.30-10pm (no lunch on Monday)
Metro: Charonne (9)

Septime Cave
3 Rue Basfroi
Ph. 01 43 67 14 87
Hours 10am-10pm Tues-Sat
Metro: Charonne (9)

Le Kitch
10 Rue Oberkampf
Ph. 01 40 21 94 41
Hours 7/7 5.30pm‐2am
Metro: Oberkampf (5,9)

Le Kitch lives up to its name and spills out hipsters and draft beer on a nightly basis.

Le Repaire de Cartouche
8 Boulevard Filles du Calvaire
Ph. 01 47 00 25 86
Hours Tues‐Thurs 12-2pm, 7:30‐10.30pm, Fri-Sat 12-2.30pm, 7.30-11pm
Metro: Saint‐Sébastien – Froissart (8)

Les Marcheurs de la Planete
73 Rue de la Roquette
Ph. 01 43 48 90 98
Hours T‐Sat 5pm‐2am, Sun 9:30am‐2am
Metro: Voltaire (9)

Rustic neighborhood bar à zinc offers top wines at cheap prices, poured by the owner who is almost as big as his tiny bar.

Pause Café
41 Rue de Charonne
Ph. 01 48 06 80 33
Hours M‐Sat 8am‐2am, Sun 9am‐8pm
Metro: Charonne (9)

Rocketed to fame after being featured in the cult film, Chacun Cherche son Chat, “Everyone is looking for their cat”. The bobo crowd fills the generous patio to watch for cuties on the Rue de Charonne.

Tape Bar
21 Rue de la Roquette
Hours 7/7 6pm-2am
Metro: Bastille (1,5,8)

La Cave du Daron
140 Avenue Parmentier
Hours Mon-Sat 11am-10pm
Metro: Goncourt (11)

Buy natural wines to drink at home or pay a little bit extra and drink them at the small bar while nibbling on charcuterie and cheese.

SHOPPING

Auguste
10 Rue St. Sabin
Ph. 01 47 00 48 20
Hours M‐Sat 12pm‐8pm
Metro: Bastille (1,5,8)

FrenchTrotters
30 Rue de Charonne
Ph. 01 47 00 83 45
Hours M 1.30-7.30pm, Tues‐Sat 11.30am‐7.30pm
Metro: Charonne (9)

Isabel Marant
16 Rue de Charonne
Ph. 01 49 29 71 55
Hours M 11am-7pm, Tues-Sat 10.30am‐7.30pm
Metro: Bastille (1,5,8)

Isabel Marant is beloved of Parisiennes. Rue de Charonne is her flagship store.

The Lazy Dog
25 Rue de Charonne
Ph. 01 58 30 94 76
Hours M 2pm‐7pm, T‐F 11:30am‐7:30pm, Sat 11am‐7:30pm
Metro: Bastille (1,5,8)

CULTURE

Café de la Danse
5 Passage Louis‐Philippe
Ph. 01 47 00 57 59
Hours Based on performance schedule
Metro: Bastille (1,5,8)

Favela Chic
18 Rue du Faubourg du Temple
Ph. 01 40 21 38 14
Hours T‐Sat 7.30pm‐late
Metro: République (3,5,8,11)

Sao Paulo meets Paris for a constant Carnivale of dance and caipirinhas.

Le Bataclan
50 Boulevard Voltaire
Ph. 01 43 14 00 30
Hours Based on performance schedule
Metro: Oberkampf (3,9)

Live indie rock performances.

Le M.U.R
Rue Oberkampf / Rue St Maur
Metro: Parmentier (3)

Modulable. Urbain. Réactif. Graffiti wall constantly reworked and adorned by famous French and international street artists, Jef Aérosol, Reko, L’Atlas, Zevs, and Shepard Fairey.

Maison des Métallos
94 Rue Jean‐Pierre Timbaud
Ph. 01 48 05 88 27
Hours Based on performance schedule
Metro: Couronnes (2)

Marché Bastille
Boulevard Richard Lenoir
Hours Th 7am‐2:30pm, Sun 7am‐3pm
Metro: Richard Lenoir (5)

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