Paris food markets: where to buy cheese, bread and wine

Schedules change; check the Paris city council website, paris.fr.

Aligre, 12th arrondissement

One of the liveliest and most affordable markets. The covered Beauvau hall has cheese and meat shops; outdoor stalls sell fruit and vegetables, with flea-market stalls nearby. Open mornings, Tuesday–Sunday. This is where Parisians themselves shop.

Enfants Rouges, 3rd arrondissement

Paris's oldest covered market, dating from the 17th century, in the Marais. Today it feels more like a food court: Moroccan, Japanese, Italian and French food at shared tables. Better for lunch than groceries.

Raspail, 6th arrondissement

On Boulevard Raspail. A regular market on Tuesdays and Fridays; an organic market on Sundays, one of Paris's most famous. Expensive, but high quality.

Bastille, 11th arrondissement

A large market on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, on Thursdays and Sundays. Vegetables, cheese, fish, oysters and prepared food. Busy on Sundays.

Président-Wilson, 16th arrondissement

A market with views of the Eiffel Tower, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Farmers and chefs' suppliers sell here.

Market streets

• Rue Cler (7th): near the Eiffel Tower, with cheese, bread, wine and pastry shops.
• Rue Montorgueil (2nd): pedestrianised, with one of Paris's oldest pastry shops.
• Rue Mouffetard (5th): in the Latin Quarter, one of the city's oldest streets.

Beyond the markets, Paris has dozens of cheese shops, or fromageries, run by affineurs, specialists who bring cheese to maturity in their own cellars. They offer tastes, advice and packing for your journey. Look for AOP and lait cru, raw milk, on labels. Read “French cheeses” for what to choose.

• Wine shops, caves, are found in every neighbourhood; the seller can suggest a bottle for your cheese and dinner.

• Wine bars selling takeaway bottles let you taste a glass before buying a bottle.
• Supermarkets are fine for everyday wine; see “How to choose wine in a shop”.

1. Say hello, “Bonjour, madame / monsieur”, before asking a question. It matters.
2. Do not touch the produce: the seller chooses it; tell them when you plan to eat it.
3. Wait your turn: even if you cannot see the queue, it exists.
4. Bring cash: many take cards, but not everyone.
5. Bring your own bag: bags may not be provided or may cost extra.
6. Come early: the best things sell out by noon, and markets pack up by 2 pm.

1. 9 am: Aligre market, cheese, fruit and coffee at a nearby café.
2. 11 am: the Marais, Enfants Rouges market and lunch at a shared table.
3. 2 pm: a wine shop for an evening bottle.
4. Evening: a picnic on the Seine with your purchases.

If you want antiques rather than food, head to Saint-Ouen flea market at Paris's northern edge on weekends, or Vanves in the south.

For Parisians, market shopping is part of the week rather than sightseeing. On Saturday or Sunday morning, families head to their neighbourhood market with a wicker bag or trolley, greet sellers they have known for years and shop for several days. The cheesemonger remembers who likes Camembert “for today” and who wants it “for the day after tomorrow”. The butcher explains how to cook a cut and prepares it as needed. Afterwards comes coffee or a glass of wine at the corner café.

To feel that rhythm, choose a residential neighbourhood market away from the centre: Aligre, Bastille, Saxe-Breteuil near the Eiffel Tower or Convention in the 15th. There are hardly any tourists.

Covered markets are useful on rainy days and weekday afternoons:

• Enfants Rouges (3rd): the oldest, with lunches at shared tables.

• Beauvau (12th): inside Aligre market, for cheese and meat.
• Saint-Quentin (10th): near Gare du Nord, in a 19th-century iron-and-glass building.
• Saint-Germain (6th): food shops in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
• Batignolles (17th): in the village-like neighbourhood in northern Paris.

Covered markets open Tuesday–Sunday, usually with a midday break and until evening; on Sundays, mornings only.

Paris also has streets where one block offers cheese, bread, meat, fish, wine and pastries:

• Rue Cler (7th): a classic near the Eiffel Tower, with pavement cafés.

• Rue Montorgueil (2nd): pedestrianised, near Les Halles, the former “Belly of Paris”.
• Rue Mouffetard (5th): Latin Quarter, with a weekend outdoor market by Saint-Médard church.
• Rue des Martyrs (9th): a fashionable street near Montmartre with excellent bakeries and pastry shops.
• Rue Daguerre (14th): quiet, near Montparnasse.

Every neighbourhood has a good boulangerie, and Parisians argue over which is best. Each year the city holds its best baguette in Paris competition: the winner supplies the Élysée Palace for a year. Look for competition award plaques in shop windows. Buy a baguette tradition: a few cents more than a standard baguette, but tastier. In the morning, choose a croissant or pain au chocolat; at lunchtime, a baguette; at weekends, sourdough pain de campagne, which keeps for several days.

In fine weather, Paris's best lunch is a picnic. For two, buy a baguette tradition, three 150 g portions of cheese, goat's cheese, Brie and Comté, 150 g of pâté or ham, cherry tomatoes, fruit, a bottle of wine and a couple of pastries. Remember a knife, corkscrew and glasses, available at any hardware shop. Picnic spots include the Seine quays near Île Saint-Louis, the Champ de Mars, Square du Vert-Galant on Île de la Cité, the Canal Saint-Martin and Buttes-Chaumont park. Drinking wine is not officially allowed in every park: check the signs.

Bear August in mind: many sellers and restaurants close for two to four weeks, and some markets operate at half capacity. The best months for food in Paris are May–June and September–October.

Buy food for home on your last day: cheesemongers vacuum-pack soft cheeses sous vide pour voyage, for travelling. Hard cheeses, Comté, Beaufort and Mimolette, travel best. Pack wine in checked luggage in protective bottle bags sold by wine shops, or nestled between clothes in your suitcase. Before travelling, check your country's rules on importing food and alcohol.

If you have a day, try markets outside the city:

• Versailles: Notre-Dame market near the palace, one of the region's best, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

• Fontainebleau: near the château, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
• Meaux: the home of Brie, with a Saturday market and cheese shops.

It is an easy way to combine a market with a château or museum, and see French life beyond the capital. Read “Where to go from Paris” for trip ideas.

Going to market with a chef is a good way to learn about French cooking. Some Paris cooking schools begin the morning at a market: the chef explains how to choose cheese, fish and seasonal vegetables, then you cook lunch together with your purchases, from starter to dessert. These classes last four to five hours and run in French and English. They are especially interesting if you cook at home: you leave with recipes and an understanding of how the French choose ingredients.

Another option is a guided food walk in a single neighbourhood, such as the Marais, Saint-Germain or Montmartre. In three hours, you taste cheese, bread, chocolate, wine and pastries in shops chosen by your guide, and collect addresses for the rest of your trip. The Marais, Saint-Germain and Montmartre feature in the days of our Paris food tour.

A Paris market is not always cheaper than a supermarket, but quality is higher. Guide prices: baguette tradition, €1.30–1.60; croissant, €1.30–2; cheese, €25–45 per kg; roast chicken, €12–20; spring strawberries, €4–7 per punnet; a dozen oysters, €12–25. Organic Raspail market costs around a third more. Towards closing, around 1 pm, some sellers reduce fruit and vegetable prices: that is when Parisians on tighter budgets come shopping.

1. Walk around the whole market before buying: compare price and quality.
2. Look for a queue of locals: the best sign.
3. Buy small amounts: sellers will not mind 100 g of cheese or two pears.
4. Say when you plan to eat it: they will choose fruit and cheese ready for the right day.
5. Ask for advice: “Qu'est-ce que vous me conseillez ?”, “What do you recommend?” Sellers love talking about their products.

1. Arriving at an outdoor market after lunch: it has already gone.
2. Going on Monday: almost everything is closed.
3. Handling the fruit.
4. Forgetting to say hello.
5. Buying soft cheese on your last day without thinking about packing it for the flight.

Marais markets and cheese shops, Montmartre croissants, Saint-Germain wine cellars and a day in Champagne. → Paris food tour · French cheeses