Inventory: City sketchbook / Paris
Perals of the quarters
Belleville and Jourdain, two of the capital’s districts, have become a cosmopolitan and colourful mélange of shops, hotels, cafés and culture spots. Here are some of our favourites.
Of all of Paris’s 20 arrondissements, perhaps the most vibrant and fastest changing are the twin neighbourhoods of Belleville and Jourdain. Once among the poorest parts of the French capital, they have become known for lively street markets, an eclectic mix of cuisines and tone-setting arts venues.
Today, the area’s Asian and North African communities rub shoulders with creatives searching for fresh opportunities and lower rents. Around Parc de Belleville, Chinese supermarkets and Tunisian tea salons vie with art galleries, natural-wine bars and the city’s best third-wave coffee shops (Paris’s less-than-stellar reputation for the beverage has long been a sore point). It’s a refreshingly well-integrated corner of the capital.
Venture towards Parc des Buttes Chaumont and you’ll find village-like Jourdain. Here, Haussmannian buildings mingle with low-rise structures and cobbled lanes, where apéros are sipped in the shadow of lime trees and the hustle of central Paris seems both easily accessible and worlds away. —
1. Read: Les Misérables
Victor Hugo’s novel captures the soul of 19th-century Paris and its residents. Belleville and Jourdain are the city’s grittiest districts in this tableau of stark social contrasts, in which the lower classes face poverty, neglect and exploitation. Pick up a copy from Le Genre Urbain, a well-stocked bookshop with an extensive foreign-language selection that might not have thrived in Jean Valjean’s day.
2. Stay: Babel
It took a while for small, independent and reliable hotels to arrive in this area but there are now several fine options. The 31-key Babel, near Boulevard de Belleville, is one of them, featuring Berber-inspired décor, an eclectic restaurant and an in-house radio station.
babel-belleville.com
3. See: The striking view of the city from Parc de Belleville
For one of the best views of the Eiffel Tower, head uphill to the top of Parc de Belleville. In the evening, the park attracts residents who come to watch the sun set behind the roofs of Paris. Afterwards, move on to one of the bars on Rue des Envierges, where things stay lively well into the night.
4. Eat: Cheval d’Or
An unassuming 1980s Chinese takeaway façade belies one of the city’s most celebrated restaurants. Cheval d’Or stays true to its Asian roots and adds a little modern French bistronomy in dishes such as cockles in Provençal-style XO sauce and, to conclude, île flottante with black tea and tapioca pearls.
chevaldorparis.com
5. Shop: Bokbar
Gothenburg transplant Natalie Magnusson opened Bokbar in 2022 to share her love for Swedish literature with the French capital. The bookshop’s wooden shelves are lined with translated works by Nordic authors that you can start reading at a table in the cosy on-site café.
bokbar.fr
6. Drink: Soces
Jourdain’s Rue de la Villette resembles an entire neighbourhood condensed into a single street. From a friendly grocer to a quaint toy shop, you’ll find everything that you need and more. For an apéro, the go-to spot on the block is Socès. It serves glasses of crisp, sparkling Furlani and orange wines alongside just-shucked oysters. As the evening progresses, the menu expands to include more substantial dishes such as gratinated onion soup and tuna carpaccio.
soces.fr
7. Buy: Harissa from Épicerie Le Caire
Though harissa, a much-loved staple of North African cuisine, is widely available in French supermarkets, nothing compares to the home-made version here. Prepared with red chilli, garlic and a closely guarded mix of herbs and spices, Épicerie Le Caire’s offering is fragrant, spicy and not for the faint of heart.
8. Visit: Parc des Buttes Chaumont
In a city short on greenery, Buttes Chaumont is a welcome oasis. Once an industrial site, it was transformed into a public park in the 19th century by landscape architect Jean-Charles Alphand, under the guidance of town planner Georges-Eugène Haussmann. The result is a dreamlike garden with dramatic rock formations, a hilltop pavilion and lush lawns, all ideal for an autumn picnic.
9. Order: A cortado at Candle Kids
In this once working-class district, a café such as Candle Kids would have been unimaginable even a few years ago. Across the street from a traditional PMU betting shop, the space represents a shift towards third-wave coffee culture, which Paris was initially slow to embrace. Come for the perfectly frothy cortados and stay for the interiors,with concrete finishes and custom-made wooden furniture by Studio Ebur.
10. Don’t miss: Théâtre de Belleville
Parisians spend many an evening at their local theatre to engage with the latest plays by the country’s leading intellectuals. In a hall that dates back to 1850, the Théâtre de Belleville has hosted productions by acclaimed writers such as Léonore Confino and Laurent Gaudé. This a neighbourhood that knows how to put on a show.
