Paris: Best Food Markets

Paris: Best Food Markets, Paris, France (D)

This guide takes you to the very best food markets in Paris. Whether you're looking for quality organic produce, bargain fruit and vegetables, or local foodie specialities, this is the app for you. Includes nearest metro stops as well as opening times and days for Paris's best open-air, covered, and roving food markets. There's bound to be one just round the corner from you.
How it works: The full article is featured in the app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Download the app to your mobile device to read the article offline and create a self-guided walking tour to visit the sights featured in this article. The app's navigation functions guide you from one sight to the next. The app works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Sights Featured in This Article

Guide Name: Paris: Best Food Markets
Guide Location: France » Paris
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Article (D))
# of Attractions: 10
Author: Helen Bird
Author Bio: Helen was born in London, grew up in a small town, and studied French at Oxford. She then moved to Normandy to teach English, before settling in Paris, where she has been living for the past seven years. Since arriving in Paris, Helen has lived in four different quartiers, worked in three different jobs, acquired two small cats, and bought one very heavy le Creuset pot. Her favourite things about Paris include the coffee, the bread, the wine, and the markets.
Author Website: http://www.parisvegan.com
Sight(s) Featured in This Guide:
  • Marché d'Aligre
  • Marché Biologique Raspail
  • Marché Richard Lenoir / Bastille
  • Marché des Enfants Rouges
  • Marché Biologique des Batignolles
  • Marché Monge
  • Marché Saxe-Breteuil
  • Marché Dejean
  • Marché St Honoré
  • Marché Grenelle
1
Marché d'Aligre

1) Marché d'Aligre

The cheapest and arguably best market in Paris. The area has a rich cultural heritage, with a traditionally North African, working class population. Aligre maintains this village feel today.

There are three elements to the fabulous Aligre market.

First, the street market: fruit and vegetables are sold at crazy cheap prices, especially on a Sunday. Stroll up and down the street before making your purchases, to find the best deal.

Second, the covered market (Beauvau): everything from artisan goat milk cheeses to cured hams, all under one roof. More expensive than the street market, but great quality.

Third, the bric à brac market: operating mainly on weekends, on the Place d'Aligre. The place to come for that elusive vintage teapot or picture frame. Great prices too!

Metro: Ledru-Rollin (line 8) or Gare de Lyon (lines 1 and 14, RER lines A and D).
Image Courtesy of James Whisker.
2
Marché Biologique Raspail

2) Marché Biologique Raspail

If you're looking for top-quality organic produce, the Marché Biologique Raspail is the market for you. French note: 'biologique' (or 'bio' for short) means 'organic'.

This left-bank institution offers everything from locally produced organic vegetables to traditionally made organic bread baked by artisans. You'll also find honey, flowers, and other sweet treats.

Everything on sale is organic, and much of it is local. So you'll be doing your bit for the planet and your health while you stock up on the delicious goodies.

Métro: Rennes (line 12), Saint-Placide (line 4), or Sèvres-Babylone (lines 10 and 12).
3
Marché Richard Lenoir / Bastille

3) Marché Richard Lenoir / Bastille

This huge market is perfect if you want top-quality produce from some of France's finest farmers and producers. It's technically called Marché de la Bastille, but all locals know it as Richard Lenoir, after the Boulevard where it takes place.

Producers, farmers, and artisans from across France head to this market to sell their delicious goods. Fill your basket with nutty camembert from Normandy, or olives from Provence, or Toulouse sausages, or Breton artichokes, or any of the other speciality foods on sale. This is the place to build the perfect French picnic, ideally to be enjoyed on the banks of the nearby Seine.

Metro: Bastille (lines 1, 5, and 8).
Image Courtesy of Havang(nl).
4
Marché des Enfants Rouges

4) Marché des Enfants Rouges

Created in 1615, this is Paris’ oldest indoor market. Its name, meaning the red children, was inspired by a nearby orphanage where the children were all kitted out in red. Today, there are 2000 m2 of stalls to explore, with the usual market fare of meat, fish, fresh produce, breads, and so on.

As a bonus, there are a couple of places to get a tasty, super fresh bite to eat. The location is also great for exploring every tourist’s favourite area of Paris: the Marais.

Metro: Filles du Calvaire (line 8), Arts et Metiers (lines 3 and 11).
Image Courtesy of Popolon.
5
Marché Biologique des Batignolles

5) Marché Biologique des Batignolles

Here's another market for lovers of organic produce, this time north of the river. If you're in the North West of Paris on a Saturday, the Marché Biologique des Batignolles is the place to go for all your organic needs.

Here you'll find everything from organic bread and pastries to locally produced fruit, vegetables and honey, via organic meat and charcuterie. Oh, and oysters, cheeses, eggs, and more still.

The only downside are the limited opening hours, but if you're in the right place at the right time, the Batignolles organic market is a great spot.

Metro: Place de Clichy (lines 2 and 13).
6
Marché Monge

6) Marché Monge

This left-bank market has to be one of the prettiest in Paris. Every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday morning, producers of top quality products and produce set-up on this picturesque leafy square to sell their goods.

The prices are quite high at the Marché Monge: the area is quite affluent. However, the quality of the goods on sale pretty much justifies the money spent on them. For slightly less expensive produce, head to the nearby Rue Mouffetard, which is also home to scores of reasonable restaurants.

Once you've finished shopping, have a well-earned coffee (or something stronger) on the terrace at one of the bars on the Place de la Contrescarpe. A pretty fountain and typically left-bank square await you!
Image Courtesy of Moonik.
7
Marché Saxe-Breteuil

7) Marché Saxe-Breteuil

Quite possibly the swankiest market in Paris. The west of the city is full of chic Parisians with fur coats and small dogs, and this is where they come to buy the finest produce needed for their exclusive dinner parties.

As a bonus, you get a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower as you wander between the stalls selling oysters, foie gras, and fine cheeses (as well as top-quality fruit and vegetables of course).

This isn't the place to come for a bargain, but it is the place to come for a uniquely Parisian shopping experience.

Metro: Duroc (lines 10 and 13), Sèvres-Lecourbe (line 6), or Ségur (line 10).
Image Courtesy of Taxiarchos228.
8
Marché Dejean

8) Marché Dejean

The Marché Dejean is at the heart of the Goutte d'Or quarter of Northern Paris. The area couldn't be further removed from tourist hotspots like the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysées.

This is the place to get a taste of gutsy, working-class Paris. The Goutte d'Or is home to a huge immigrant community, and this is reflected in the food on sale at the Marché Dejean.

You'll find exotic foods that meet the needs of the local community, many of whom have West African roots. Look out for tilapia, okra, yams, yucca, and a host of herbs and spices.

Metro: Château Rouge (line 4) or Barbès Rochechouart (lines 2 and 4).
Image Courtesy of Tony Hisgett.
9
Marché St Honoré

9) Marché St Honoré

Located in the rather swanky and super central 1st arrondissement, the Marché St honoré dates back to 1810. The market has undergone many changes in its 200 + years of existence.

Today, it's a great place to shop for all the usual market classics like produce, fish, meat, and bread. You'll also find stalls selling clothes and accessories.

There are plenty of wine bars nearby to stop off for a refreshing tipple or bite to eat after your shopping.

Metro: Pyramides (lines 7 and 14).
Image Courtesy of Daniel Lobo.
10
Marché Grenelle

10) Marché Grenelle

The 15th Arrondissement is largely residential, without a great deal to attract the tourists. The plus side of this is that you can catch a glimpse of how 'average' (although decidedly not broke) Parisians go about their daily lives here. The photo shows those brave market-stall holders who battled to set up their wares despite a huge amount of snow. Normally there are more traders!

The Marché Grenelle is the area's bi-weekly market, and well worth a visit if you find yourself in this part of town on a Wednesday or Sunday. It's big, it's typical, and it's a great place to stock up on fruit, vegetables, meats, cheeses, fish, flowers, and all the usual market staples.

If you're feeling peckish after all that shopping, why not try something different and head to one of the Korean restaurants around the Rue Letellier and Rue Tiphaine?

Metro: Dupleix (line 6) or La Motte-Picquet - Grenelle (Lines 6, 8, and 10).
Image Courtesy of Oliver H.

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