Canal Saint-Martin
10ème, PARIS
Paris
Neighborhood: Canal Saint-Martin
Arrondissement: #10
The Canal Saint-Martin is the ideal neighborhood to make your home base during an extended stay in Paris. The area that breathes with creativity. The canal itself is a public gathering spot, especially around the elbow, with urbanites lining the length of the canal on warm evenings with picnic spreads and bottles of wine. The intervals of arching footbridges are charmingly useful seams that connect the east and west sides of the neighborhood. Off the spine of the canal you’ll find places for your daily breakfast pastry, spaces to hosts your laptop session, and fortifying cafes for your afternoon caffeine fix.
Du Pain et des Idées
bakery
Du Pain et des Idées, the grand dame of the neighborhood, occupies a wonderful corner at the T-intersection of Rue Yves Toudic and Rue de Marseille. Q queue regularly forms out the door. Inside, the vibe is elegant yet bustling with industrious activity as customers place their order.
The croissants are pleasurably doughy and savory, with a light, softly flakey outside. Just as good are the breads—dense loaves of brioche (plain or topped with sugar) and Le Rebelais, a slightly sweet brioche-like bread with walnuts made from a Renaissance-inspired recipe (both are excellent when lightly toasted on the second and third days.) If you’re apt to eat with your eyes, Le Chausson à la Pomme Fraîche—a pastry enveloping fresh apple pieces—and Les Escargots (in flavors like pistachio and chocolate) are exceedingly handsome. The bakery also serves organic coffee if you need some bitter with your sweet.
Perch at one of the two wooden picnic tables outside while you unwrap your just-bought pastry, which has been packaged and swaddled into a simple square sheet of white paper, twisted at the corners. If impossible to grab one of the coveted table spots, walk a few blocks to the canal where you’ll spot others pulling out their treasures from the distinctive turquoise bakery bags.
The name of the bakery translates to Bread and Ideas, for surely good thinking follows the fortification of the stomach. And now you can get on with the rest of your day.
34 Rue Yves Toudic. dupainetdesidees.com
Ten Belles
coffee shop
An energetic little space that’s been a major contributor to Paris’ coffee revolution, Ten Belles is known for high quality coffee and espresso drinks. The beans come from David Flynn of Télescope, another serene, artisan spot, and an appetizing selection of accompanying nibbles includes house-made scones, sandwiches, and granola. The space is outfitted with playful, multi-colored wooden stools, a snug upstairs seating, and a bar along the windows that opens up to the sidewalk on warm days.
10 Rue de la Grange aux Belles. tenbelles.com
Radiodays
coffee shop
For late weekday afternoons and weekends, Radiodays is a serene coffee shop to head to with a book in tow. A collection of international newspapers, including The New York Times, adorn the central communal table, plus a few high top tables and window stools complete the space. The amiable baristas add to the homey vibe, as does the house-made banana bread, served warm, and variety of other organic baked goods. They’re open both Saturday and Sunday—rare in this city.
15 Rue Alibert. radiodays.cafe
Le Bichat
cafe
Even if you embrace butter and cream wholeheartedly, this healthy option is a welcome palette cleanser after eating out in Paris for many consecutive days. Le Bichat offers warm rice bowl creations with veggies and a protein of your choice: eggs, scrambled in, or the fish of the day (e.g. sardines, mackerel) are solid choices. The simple, limited menu is well executed and relieves you of any big decisions.
The meal-in-a-bowl lends itself well to takeout, or if you decide to stay there and eat, you have the delightful option of ordering a carafe of wine with your meal. Choose a perch among the shared high-top tables, the bar along the window with seating for two, the small upstairs nook, and the few sidewalk tables.
11 Rue Bichat. lebichat.fr
Myrthe
provisions
Come to this sunny storefront, just half a block east of the canal, for its tasteful assortment of quiches and sandwiches. This gourmet épicerie is a great spot to pick up food during off-meal hours—a lifesaver for those times you don’t plan meals around the French’s strict meal hours and admirable respect for a true break in the working day.
10 Rue de la Grange aux Belles (next door to Ten Belles). myrtheparis.fr
Crêperie Chez Georges
food stand
Georges is the rock of the neighborhood. The guy (sometimes two of them) works a steady operation on the west side of République until 1:00 am everyday, making it the ultimate midnight snack destination. Locals and tourists alike walk up to Georges’s stand to get crêpes made fresh on the griddle, layered with fillings of choice, then folded up into a wedge tucked into wax paper.
While it can be hard to resist the option of Nutella plus banana plus almonds, honey, and extra chocolate, less is more when it comes to crêpes so as not to overwhelm the lightly fried batter. Favorites are the crêpes with just Nutella or Grand Marnier (without sugar).
11 Place de la République creperie-chezgeorges.zenchef.com
Le Sésame
cafe
Le Sésame is the place to seek out when you want to sit down to equal parts reading, people-watching, and day dreaming. Situated right on the canal with an array of welcoming sidewalk tables, come here in the late afternoon to enjoy your book with a glass of wine and watch Parisians biking past. The tasteful, retro interior also presents a great option for cozying up on chillier days of the year.
51 Quai de Valmy. au-sesame.com
La Tresorerie
home goods
This lovely, two-level shop contains a treasure trove of useful items for the home and kitchen. Beautifully curated collections of glasses, bowls, and ceramics line the shelves. Favorite items include the fun assortments of flatware and colorful linen napkins that rest with a luxurious weight on your lap. Upstairs, you can find linen bedding.
The shop is connected to Café Smorgås, an airy space with big windows to serving up a Scandinavian menu.
11 Rue du Château d'Eau. latresorerie.fr
Hubsy–Republique
coworking space
Hubsy is a place to be productive fueled by well-crafted, unlimited espresso drinks and munchies. Suited for professionals who are just temporarily in the city, there’s no membership required and you can walk into the space and pay by the hour (with a daily price cap).
There are many coworking spaces in the city with this cafe model, but reasons to love Hubsy are for its well-proportioned tables that are easy to share when the space gets busy and its larger-than-average selection of nibbles: bread box + toaster, veggies, dips, and spreads in the fridge, trail mix in glass canisters, and tea selection.
9bis Rue Lucien Sampaix. hubsy.fr
“An hour is a vase filled with perfumes, with sounds, with moments, with changing moods and climates.”
