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Paris restaurants in general have terraces, plants and
views – inside or out.
Some Paris plazas on the other hand have an added
attraction, the feel of a small village.
Plazas are found everywhere in Paris. You have seen them
in the movies. Maybe you have sat on one of the green benches next to a
Wallace Fountain just because it is there.
A bit isolated from heavy car traffic, but still lively,
three plazas in particular are worth a visit.
One has daily, permanent markets, regulars at its café,
is close to the neighborhood city hall and at the foot of a famous
Montmartre landmark.
Another lies close to Montmartre away from the street
noise where the children play and passersby sit and watch others pass
by.
The third was once a convent, then a covered market. Now
merchants set up their stalls selling regional goods around Christmas
time and at least seven restaurants surround the plaza.
Place Charles Bernard
The weekly magazine "Zurban" arrives in my mailbox every
Wednesday. One week they had a little note about Place Charles Bernard
in the 18th arrondissement. They wrote about a certain café
and a certain patron with white hair who comes by every day with her
dogs. They wrote about the daily market and the general neighborhood
activity.
We went in search of this area down the street from the
Mairie (city hall) and the OTHER side of Montmartre. When I saw the
neighborhood I realized it was a rarity and that it could all disappear
tomorrow.... That is what was so fantastic about this small area; it is
what used to be all over Paris!
At Place Charles Bernard take a beer at le Reinitas (18
rue du Poteau) and watch everyone do their daily marketing, buy their
papers and greet each other. If you plan on staying in the area and want
to prepare a picnic, this is a great place to buy your roasted quail (caille)
or chicken, cheese, veggies, fish, whatever.
Location, location
Metro Jules Joffrin – 18th arrondissement –
This neighborhood is located between rue Ordener, rue du Poteau and rue
Sainte-Isaure.
Origin of the name
Charles Jean Bernard (1856-1927) was a deputy in the
mayor’s office (18th arrondissement).
Place Gustave Toudouze
This little community gathering point featuring the green
bench and the Wallace fountain is in the 9th arrondissement. This
neighborhood has plenty of little restaurants and homes; around the
corner is the shadow of Sacre Cœur.
While waiting for the Katoori restaurant to open, we sat
next store at the tea salon sipping a beer and watched as one of the
wait staff came out and began to bring Katoori to life, laying out the
tablecloths, napkins, cutlery, etc.
Katoori (4, Place Gustave Toudouze, rue Henri-Monnier) is
a bring your own bottle restaurant (see my “Restaurant” section for a writeup).
We made our reservation and went to the Shopi grocery
store to buy our sparking wine (Blanquette de Limoux Brut - Jean Lafon
for example). Click on the map to locate the Shopi.
People from the neighborhood were returning home from
work, the streetlights and restaurant lights were brightening up the
evening, a bus passed once in a while, but the area was relatively
traffic free.
Location, location
Metro Saint-Georges, 9th arrondissement, rue
Clauzel and rue Henri Monnier.
Origin of the name
Gustave Toudouze (1847-1904), romantic and dramatic
author and journalist.
Place du Marché Sainte Catherine
This is one of the areas you can’t help but want to pass
through. It is so small, warm and inviting. Surrounded by a variety of
restaurants, Jewish, Korean, traditional French, café style, and one
that has food and magic shows for adults and children.
While searching for information about this area I linked
to one of the restaurants on the plaza, the Pitchi Poï. All along I
thought it was a Russian restaurant! It’s a family-run Jewish
restaurant featuring Yiddishland cuisine.
What is Yiddishland cuisine? Food ideas come from
Strasbourg to Vladivostok, Warsaw, Moscow, Budapest, Bucharest, Kiev,
Odessa, Boukhara and Samarkand, etc. Add to that the cuisine from the
other side of the Mediterranean and French savoir faire . See their
entertaining website at
http://www.pitchipoi.com/ . The site is in English and French.
Location, location
Metro Saint-Paul; located in the 4th
arrondissement, in the Marais between rue d’Ormesson and rue de Jarente.
Origin of the name
Sainte-Catherine-du Val-des-Écoliers was a convent.
Although the plaza itself dates from 1783, the layout is typical of the
Middle Ages. A fountain is at the end of the Impasse de la Poissonnerie.
The convent
was razed in the 18th century and
replaced in 1777 by the first Parisian covered market.
At this time, the Impasse de la Poissonerie (around the
corner) was set up to be a fish market. The fountain on the dead end
street was designed and constructed in 1783 by Caron (
www.insecula.com ) for more
information).
By the 1930s this market was in disrepair and torn down.
Recommended map book
Paris Pratique par arrondissement (guidebooks)
– you can find it at kiosks and bookstores in Paris.
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November 2008
