Aligre: the market and the cabinetmakers' lanes
A covered hall, an open-air market, a flea market — then the furniture quarter's hidden courtyards. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Aligre: the market and the cabinetmakers' lanes