The Bastille district is easy to walk around and offers opera, bijou cafés, and a street market full of bargains.
1 - Place de la Bastille
The brash busy square might not be that aesthetically pleasing, but its gritty history is key to the France we know today – and the reason behind the neighbourhood’s name. The Place de la Bastille was the site of the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789, which signalled the start of the French Revolution and fall of the Ancien Régime.
The Colonne de Juillet stands 52m high at the centre of the square, topped with the gold winged Génie de la Liberté (Spirit of Freedom), and commemorates the subsequent revolution of 1830 (the basis of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables). Tourists can discover the lower parts of the column during guided tours on weekends (from €13).
From the Place de la Bastille, you can head into the namesake Bastille neighbourhood to the east, along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, or the quaint Marais district to the west.
2 - Opéra Bastille
While you might be more familiar with the glitzy Palais Garnier in the ninth arrondissement, the Opéra Bastille at the intersection of the roundabout also has plenty to offer – and more capacity, with 2,745 seats in total. The postmodern theatre was designed by Canadian-Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott and inaugurated in 1989 – the bicentenary of the French Revolution – with a façade that combines transparent and metallic panels.
This month, it is putting on Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon, an opera based on Charles Perrault’s 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale, with surtitles in both French and English. Directed by Mariame Clément, the 160-minute performance (including an interval) runs until April 28 and tickets start at €45. For a peek behind the scenes, join a 90-minute guided tour of the building from €17. operadeparis.fr
3 - Dining out
The neighbourhood is filled with delicious eateries, occupying small buildings on cobbled pavements and larger avenues. Mokonuts on Rue Saint-Bernard is a bijou café and bakery run by Japanese-Lebanese couple Moko Hirayama and Omar Koreitem, with a menu that reads as a blend of Middle Eastern, Japanese and French flavours. Don’t miss Moko’s famous miso-sesame cookies, or Omar’s dishes with lashings of za’atar and labneh.
The area is also home to the highly popular Septime on Rue de Charonne, a modern bistro which offers imaginative tasting menus with wine pairings from chef Bertrand Grébaut. Septime boasts a Michelin star for its high-end cooking, as well as a Michelin green star for its sustainable credentials, so book well in advance to secure a table. mokonuts.com; septime-charonne.fr
4 - La Coulée Verte
Fuelled for further exploration of the area, head to Avenue Daumesnil and climb one of the staircases to reach La Coulée Verte René-Dumont – an elevated park which also goes by the name of Promenade Plantée. The lush 4.5 km stretch was built on the disused tracks of the 19th-century Vincennes railway line in 1988 by architects Philippe Mathieux and Jacques Vergely, and opened to the public in 1993.
The landscaped walkway begins behind the Opéra Bastille and runs all the way to the Bois de Vincennes. Stroll amid lime and hazelnut trees, rosebushes and climbing plants, and admire Paris’ Haussmann architecture from a more tranquil (and high-rise) perspective. It’s also worth visiting Le Viaduc des Arts on Avenue Daumesnil, which houses a collection of 37 upmarket glass-fronted boutiques, workshops and galleries within arched vaults. La Coulée Verte is free to visit and open daily – plus the flora changes with the seasons so it’s never boring.
5 - Marché d’Aligre
This famous street market is cheap and cheerful, popular among locals and tourists alike. Located between the Place de la Bastille and the Place de la Nation, the colourful market is one of the city’s oldest and is open six days a week, year-round (closed on Mondays). It’s divided into two sections – the covered food hall, Marché Beauvau, houses permanent (and slightly pricier) food stalls displaying everything from vegetarian meat to French cheese, artisan coffee, herbs and spices, while an outdoor market offers antiques, bric-a-brac and more food.
Prepare for a hectic but thrilling experience and leave with your shopping bags full and wallets largely unchanged. The covered market is open 9am-1pm and 4pm-7.30pm weekdays, 9am-1pm Saturday, and 9am-1.30pm Sunday; the outdoor market is open from 7.30am-1.30pm weekdays, and until 2.30pm on weekends.