Dixon Long - Markets of Paris, 2nd Edition: Food, Antiques, Crafts, Books, and More

2012 The Little Bookroom
Text 2012 Dixon Long and Marjorie R. Williams
Photos 2012 Marjorie R. Williams

Cover and Endpaper Illustration Susan Burghart

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Long, Dixon.
Markets of Paris / by Dixon Long and Marjorie R. Williams;
photographs by Marjorie R. Williams.2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. MarketsFranceParisGuidebooks. 2. Paris (France)Guidebooks. I. Williams, Marjorie. R. II. Title.
HF5474.F9P34 2012
381.180944361dc23
2011041982

eBook ISBN: 978-1-936941-08-7
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-936941-00-7

Published by The Little Bookroom
435 Hudson Street, Suite 300
New York NY 10014
www.littlebookroom.com

v3.1

To the memories of Ruthanne Long and Gloria Williams whose love of travel, people, food, and adventure lives on

Paris is always a good idea .
(Audrey Hepburn in the film Sabrina )

CONTENTS

Introduction

We have a love affair with markets. For Dixon, it began when he lived in Paris in the 1960s and found that flea markets were the best places to buy inexpensive furniture and household goods. For Marjorie, it began when she visited Fontainebleau in 1995 and heard the early morning buzz build as a market took shape in the plaza across from her hotel. For both of us, the discovery of Pariss open-air food markets transformed that affair into a long-term relationship. The abundance of good things to cook and to eat, their freshness, and the good will of the vendors, gathered us in an embrace that never let us go.

Why do markets dazzle and delight us? Above all, its the opportunity to observe and participate in an experience that is quintessentially French, and independent of social or economic class. In the markets, real people fill real needs for food, clothing, tools, household goodssustenance for the bodybut also books, stamps, letters, and relics from the past that nurture the mind and the soul. Moreover, theres no requirement for the observer to participate (though you may strike up a conversation or two). In a market, youre plunged into an authentic experience in which you can be as anonymous as you wish, or speak up to anyone you happen to rub elbows with.

As we define it, a market is a place where you can find a lot of the same thing at competitive prices. There is a market in Paris for fabrics, and another for paper ephemera goods. Birds and small animals have markets of their own. Similar kinds of shops have migrated to common locations that function as marketsfor example, antiques, ceramics, fine art, textiles, musical instruments, and overstocked designer clothing. You can find a market not only for these things, but just about anything else imaginable.

There are seventy open-air food markets (including three organic markets), each in a different location in the city, open two or three times a week, all year long. Add to this ten covered food markets, and a dozen pedestrian streets where stalls push out on the sidewalk, extending the reach of commerce. Weve also included a list of our favorite restaurants. It changes faster than one might imagine, but we have tried to keep up with that fast-moving phenomenon too.

Crisscrossing the city by foot and mtro, we visited markets for stamps and phone cards, used books, prints, and fresh flowers. We already knew about the Clignancourt flea market, but got to know the sprawling flea market near the Porte de Vanves, the market for paper items of all kinds just outside the Porte de Vincennes, and many more.

Since completing the initial research ten years ago, much has changed in Paris and in the lives of the writers. This new edition is the result of collaboration between Dixon Long, one of the original authors of this book, and Marjorie Williams, a Boston-based food writer. Together and separately we reviewed all of the markets in the central city, and many farther afield. Much of the text is new, and the shopping suggestions have been updated.

When we go back, we embrace the city as an old friend whose habits and idiosyncrasies we recognize. But its also a friend who is constantly growing and changing, and who can still surprise, inspire, and enchant us. Weve kept our presentations brief, and identified people and places that caught our interest. But youll make your own discoveries. Whatever your interest or the length of your stay, youll find a market to fascinate and reward you. So bon voyage, and be sure to visit the markets the next time you see Paris, and the next, and the next

Practical Suggestions

The markets are a great way to see Paris with fresh eyes and to meet the people up close. This guide will take you into parts of the city where you may never have been, and show you markets whose existence you might never have guessed.

The selection of our favorite markets, listed in the first few pages of each arrondissement section, is based on several factors: most are bustling and colorful (such as rue dAligre); some are located in places that are interesting for cultural reasons (such as Prsident Wilson in the elegant 16th arrondissement, and Barbs in the 18th arrondissement, the predominantly North African part of the city). There are also those that offer unusual value or variety, such as the Saint-Germain Arts and Antiques Galleries or the Booksellers on the Seine. Occasional sidebars highlight information that is somewhat tangential, but we found it interesting and thought you might too.

Here are some practical suggestions for making your visits to markets easy, enjoyable, and productive:

Like all great cities of the world, Paris is organized into administrative subdivisionshere they are called arrondissements. They begin with the 1st arrondissement in the heart of the city on the right bank of the Seine and unroll clockwise making two full circles until they end with the 20th arrondissement on the eastern side of the city. Each has a town hall and offers a variety of services not provided by the City of Paris. On street signs, you will see above the street name the number of the arrondissement. Like many guidebooks, Markets of Paris is organized by arrondissement.

Always take a map. We like Paris pratique par arrondissement , published by lIndispensable. You can find it in the kiosks on the street, in magazine stands in train stations and bookstores, as a 96-page pocket book, and as a foldout map, Paris Poche. Careful examination will reveal a small blue basket at the site of every open-air food market, and a white basket on a blue background at the sites of the covered markets.