Belleville, Ménilmontant & Père-Lachaise
The hilly, immigrant, working-class north-east: Paris's second Chinatown, North African and West African food, a dense street-art quarter, a park with the best free view in the city, and the world's most visited cemetery. Almost no monuments and the best neighborhood eating in Paris.
Who it's for: Second- and third-visit travelers. Eaters — the natural-wine bistro movement was born on these streets and the cheap immigrant food is the best in the city. Walkers who like hills and don't need a sight at the end. Anyone tired of the postcard.
Things to know
- Père-Lachaise is free, enormous (44 hectares) and genuinely confusing. Get a free map — Maison du 20e staff hand them out at the Porte des Amandiers opposite the Père Lachaise metro, Tuesday to Friday, from mid-April to the end of October — or buy one at the gate.
- Wear real shoes in the cemetery. The paths are cobbled, steep and slippery in rain, and the interesting graves are up the hill in the older eastern sections.
- Parc de Belleville has the best free panorama in Paris after Sacré-Cœur, and far fewer people. Climb rue Piat from Belleville metro; on a clear day you see the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur from the top terrace.
- Boulevard de Belleville hosts one of the biggest and cheapest street markets in Paris on Tuesday and Friday mornings — North African, Chinese and West African produce at prices nothing in the centre matches.
- This is where to eat. Book the bistros (Le Baratin, Le Grand Bain, Dilia, Le Cheval d'Or) several days ahead — they are small and they are where Paris chefs eat on their nights off.
- Rue Denoyez's street art is repainted constantly, so it is never the same twice. That is the point; do not go looking for a specific piece you saw online.
- The district is safe but scruffier than central Paris and the boulevard de Belleville can feel edgy late at night. Normal city sense applies; nothing more.