• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

19 Abbesses metro entrance Take the steps down from place Émile Goudeau and follow rue des Abbesses south into place des Abbesses, where you can’t miss the Abbesses metro entrance designed by Hector Guimard (boxed text).

Return to beginning of chapter

PARISIAN ROUND-THE-WORLD TOUR

And you thought it was all berets, baguettes and bistros… To be sure, Paris is and will always be français – the couturiers will continue to spin their glad rags, the boulangeries (bakeries) will churn out those long, crispy loaves and the terrace cafés will remain the places to watch the world go by. But it’s a much more international world nowadays, and Paris Mondial (World Paris), a diverse, dynamic, multicultural city, vibrates to its rhythms.

France ruled a considerable part of the world until the middle of the 20th century, and today its population includes a large number of immigrants and their descendants from its former colonies and protectorates in Africa, Indochina, the Middle East, India, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. At the same time, France has continued to accept significant numbers of exiles and refugees from around the world. Most of these immigrants have settled in specific areas of the capital, especially Belleville in the 19e and 20e, rue du Faubourg St-Denis in the 10e and La Goutte d’Or and Château Rouge in the 18e. A stroll through these quarters will have you touring the globe without even boarding an aeroplane.

1 Birthplace of Édith Piaf Begin the walk at the Pyrénées metro stop in Belleville, a district where Jewish kosher and Muslim halal butchers share the same streets with cavernous Chinese noodle shops, their windows festooned with dripping cha siu (roast pork). Walk west on rue de Belleville, past the birthplace of Édith Piaf at No 72, and turn left (south) onto rue Piat, which you will be forgiven for thinking says ‘Piaf’. Rue Piat will bring you to the Parc de Belleville which, at 200m above sea level, affords some of the best views in what is a very flat city.

2 Boulevard de Belleville Descend the steps at 27 rue Piat, which lead to the Maison de l’Air exhibition space, and follow the path downhill to the right to passage de Pékin and rue de Pali Kao to blvd de Belleville. This boulevard is a microcosm of Paris Mondial and on market mornings (Click here), you might think you’ve been transported to the Mediterranean, Africa or even Asia. At No 39 is the Mosquée Abou Bakr as Saddiq, just a few doors down from the modern Église Notre Dame Réconciliatrice, a Sri Lankan Christian church at No 57. About 100m up on the right-hand – or Tunisian – side of the street is the Synagogue Michkenot Yaachov at No 118.

3 Rue du Faubourg du Temple Walk north up blvd de Belleville and turn left (west) onto rue du Faubourg du Temple. The walk along rue du Faubourg du Temple to place de la République is a long one and you can take the metro for a couple of stops. But in doing so you’d miss the vibrancy and assorted sights: La Java at No 105, where Piaf once warbled, and the Épicerie Asie, Antilles, Afrique, which sells goods from three worlds. Once you’ve crossed the placid Canal St-Martin, the enormous place de la République, where many political rallies and demonstrations in Paris start and/or end, and its statue of the Republic (erected in 1883), pops into view.

4 Boulevard St-Martin Make your way to place de la République’s northwest corner and follow blvd St-Martin past the Porte St-Martin and the Porte St-Denis.

5 Passage Brady Turn right (north) and follow rue du Faubourg St-Denis, the main artery linking Tamil Nadu with Turkey. Passage Brady at No 46, built in 1828 and once housing 100 tiny boutiques, is now a warren of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cafés and restaurants and the perfect spot for a break and some refuelling. Alternatively you might pop into a Turkish çay salonu (tea house) or döner yemek ve çorba salon (kebab and soup restaurant), which offer kebabs,