Bastille Markets
Twice a week Boulevard Richard Lenoir comes alive with brightly coloured stalls and enticing food displays at the famous Marché Bastille, one of Paris’ most vibrant and exciting food markets.
Vendors engaging with shoppers and calling out their specials for the day. Crowds of eager shoppers with shopping trolleys and dogs in tow. The Bastille Markets are everything you could hope for in a Parisian market.
Vibrant, delicious, intoxicating.
Stretching along the Boulevard Richard Lenoir and located near the site where the fortress and prison of Bastille once stood, in the shadow of the Colonne de Juilet, thrusting 47 metres high towards the sky, commemorating the 1830 revolution, there is no sign of incarceration now, instead, completely the opposite. A lively bustling space surrounded by cafés, bistros and the imposing Opéra Bastille.
A place full of history, energy and atmosphere.
The Bastille Markets spring to life every Thursday and Sunday with colour, excitement, vigour and great food.
Follow the shoppers as your journey of the senses begins
It is all about food, and this is what draws the crowds.
Fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables, olives, nuts, jars of freshly made yoghurt, artisan butchers with queues almost as long as the market, organic eggs, flowers, cheese, bread and piping hot ready to eat meals.
Apart from the fresh raw foods there is also an array of hot steamy dishes ready to eat. Large vats of paella, roasted chickens, crepes and galettes with a filling of your choice, pre-cooked meals to take home and re-heat.
Or there is a great spot to relax and tuck into some of your purchases by the water and only 280 metres away at the nearby Bassin de l’Arsenal, on the opposite side of Place de la Bastille. Click here for the MAP
Perhaps sample some Choucroute a delicious Alsatian dish of sauerkraut and various meats.
Standing in front of a red and white striped backdrop, you will find the vendor serving generous helpings from a large steaming pan for very reasonable prices.
Bastille Markets is fun and friendly, has a bright colourful vibe and is a wonderful experience to be had and offers great photo opportunities.
Bring a good sense of humour, a shopping bag and a healthy appetite.
Be prepared for your eyes to sparkle, your mouth to water, your tummy to rumble and your heart to skip a beat as you get caught up in the lively atmosphere!
One thing is for certain, you won’t be disappointed.
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Paris Adèle’s Information Nécessaire:
Marché Bastille
Boulevard Richard Lenoir
75011, Paris
Opening Times:
Thursdays & Sundays
8am – 1:30pm
Nearest Metro:
Bastille – MAP
You can read about some market day fun or scroll down further for more food options:
I woke to the sound of shopping trolleys, from the apartment above and the street below. Sunday is market day. Jumping out of bed, I walked to the Bastille Markets. …
Marche aux Puces de Montreuil and Parc des Buttes Chaumont was on the agenda today, even although by the time I left the apartment at 10am, it was still only -1 …
No PJ’s, no hot water bottle but three doonas later I slept like a baby – well until the wee hours at least. But hey jetlag does that to you. I …
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