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Aligre: the market and the cabinetmakers' lanes
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Aligre: the market and the cabinetmakers' lanes

A covered hall, an open-air market, a flea market — then the furniture quarter's hidden courtyards.

Photo: Thomon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

2.7 km

Time

~ 75 min

Difficulty

Easy

End

Faidherbe–Chaligny (M8)

Best at

morning

Right now
36°C· Mostly clear

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

This is two Parises in one short walk: the loudest food market in the centre, and the quietest courtyards behind it, where furniture has been made for four hundred years. Do it on a morning — the market is gone by early afternoon, and it's shut on Mondays.

From Ledru-Rollin, walk east to Place d'Aligre. Start inside the covered Marché Beauvau for the butchers, the cheese, the Italian traiteur (deli), then out to the open-air stalls — the cheapest fruit and veg in central Paris, sold at a shout. The grocers expect you to say what you want, so say it. At the rue de Charenton end, the small daily marché aux puces (flea market) is worth a rummage for crockery and the odd good lamp.

Then the switch. Back on rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, slip through the carriage doors into the Cour du Bel-Air, and on to the Passage du Chantier — a cobbled lane of cabinetmakers and restorers, the most intact survivor of the quarter's furniture trade. Walk it to the end. Faidherbe–Chaligny is a few minutes further, and takes you and your shopping home.

The route

On the map.

Elevation

21 m·23 m·3947 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

  1. 01
    1

    Ledru-Rollin metro

    Come up on rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine and walk east a few minutes to the market. Mornings are the only honest time to do this walk — the market winds down by early afternoon.

  2. 02
    2

    Marché Beauvau (covered hall)

    The covered hall on Place d'Aligre — butchers, a cheese counter, an Italian *traiteur* (deli). Smaller and calmer than the open-air stalls outside. Buy here, browse out there.

  3. 03
    3

    Place d'Aligre open-air market

    The cheapest fruit and veg in central Paris, shouted across the *place*. The grocers expect you to engage; pointing and paying gets you the bruised ones, so say what you want.

  4. 04
    4

    Marché aux puces d'Aligre

    At the rue de Charenton end, a small daily flea market — books, crockery, the occasional good lamp. Worth ten minutes of rummaging; don't expect bargains, do expect character.

  5. 05
    5

    Cour du Bel-Air

    Back on the Faubourg, duck through the carriage entrance into this *cour* (courtyard) — cobbles, climbing plants, workshops that have made furniture here since the seventeenth century. It's semi-private; tread quietly and you're welcome.

  6. 06
    6

    Passage du Chantier

    The most intact of the furniture passages — a narrow cobbled lane still lined with cabinetmakers and restorers. This is what the whole quarter looked like before the showrooms moved in. Walk to the far end and back.

  7. 07
    7

    Faidherbe–Chaligny metro

    A few minutes east along the Faubourg for the M8 home. By now you're carrying cheese, fruit, and possibly a lamp; the line takes it all without complaint.