In short
- What’s there: Place de la Bastille, the Atelier des Lumières, the Musée Édith Piaf and the Église Sainte-Marguerite.
- Location: the Right Bank, from the Bastille in the south to Belleville in the north.
- Good to know: the Musée Édith Piaf opens by appointment only.
- Food markets: five, and the Bastille market, on Thursdays and Sundays, is one of the biggest in the city.
- Restaurants: seven recommendations, from a classic bistro to a Michelin star.
- Who it suits: anyone looking for food and nightlife, and not anyone looking for monuments.
- Walking itineraries: one passes through the arrondissement and continues east.
The 11th is the most densely populated arrondissement in Paris, and you can feel it in everything to do with food and nightlife. Instead of monumental attractions, it has five food markets and seven restaurants I recommend.
What it does have historically is Place de la Bastille, where it all began in 1789, and where there’s nothing to see, because not one stone of the fortress is left. And for anyone who still comes for art, this is the place in Paris for digital exhibitions.
So before we set off, here is what you’ll find on this page: first the hotels and apartments I recommend in the arrondissement, then the attractions one by one, the seven restaurants I send people to, the five food markets with their days and hours, and finally the walking itineraries.
Recommended Hotels in the 11th Arrondissement of Paris
The 11th is a good choice if you want to be where Parisians actually live, and less so if you need to sleep early. If you’re not sure what suits you, answer three questions and I’ll pick from my recommendations:
My personal pick
Which hotel in the 11th arrondissement suits you?
One short question, and I will pick out of the places I already checked and wrote about on the site the ones that fit the trip you are planning.
One moment, I am going over my recommendations to find what fits you…
Prefer to go through all my recommendations yourself, with photos and details on every hotel? Here is my page of recommended hotels in the 11th arrondissement.
Recommended Apartments in the 11th Arrondissement of Paris
With five markets in one arrondissement, an apartment with a kitchen is exactly what you need here. Here too, you can let me choose:
My personal pick
Which apartment in the 11th arrondissement suits you?
One question about the area, and I will filter the apartments I checked and wrote about on the site. The apartments I recommend directly get booked very fast, so I added excellent Booking.com apartments that I hand-picked for my readers.
One moment, I am going over my recommendations to find what fits you…
Want to go through all the apartments I recommend, with photos and details? Here is my page of recommended apartments in the 11th arrondissement.
Attractions in the 11th Arrondissement of Paris
These are the sites I recommend in the 11th. Note that one of them opens by appointment only, so it’s not a place to show up without checking first.
-
Must see
The Atelier des Lumières
The first digital art center in Paris, inside a preserved foundry.
The center is housed in a 19th-century iron foundry, and the original walls and floor are exactly what serves as the projection surface. The shows change and are devoted each time to a different artist, so check what’s on before you buy a ticket. To me it works very well with kids, who don’t have to stand quietly in front of a frame.
-
By appointment only
The Musée Édith Piaf
A small private apartment turned into a museum, and entry is by phone appointment only.
This isn’t a museum in the usual sense but a private collection in a fan’s apartment, with dresses, photographs and belongings of Édith Piaf (1915-1963). Visits are by appointment only and in very small groups, so don’t plan to just drop by on your way somewhere. Piaf herself was born not far from here and is buried at Père-Lachaise, and you can connect them in a single walking itinerary.
-
Free entry
Place de la Bastille
The place where the Revolution began, and today not a single stone of the fortress is left.
The fortress was torn down to its foundations in the two years after 1789, and its stones were sold as souvenirs. What does remain is a line of paving stones marking where the wall stood, and a section of the old moat wall on display inside the metro station itself, on the line 5 platform. The column in the middle of the square isn’t from the Revolution of 1789 but from the one of 1830.
-
Free entry
The Église Sainte-Marguerite
A fairly quiet church, and in its yard a grave historians argued over for a century and a half.
According to tradition, the churchyard is where Louis XVII (1785-1795) was buried, the son of Louis XVI (reigned 1774-1792) and Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), who died at the age of ten in the Temple prison. Whether the boy who died there was really him occupied scientists and historians for generations, and a DNA test of the heart kept at Saint-Denis settled the matter. I wrote the full story separately.
More Attractions in the 11th Arrondissement Worth Knowing
These are places I haven’t written a separate article about yet, but if you’re wandering around the arrondissement, it’s worth knowing they’re there:
| The place | Address | Why stop there |
|---|---|---|
| The July Column (Colonne de Juillet) | In the middle of Place de la Bastille | A memorial to those who fell in the Revolution of 1830, not 1789, and they are buried in a crypt at its base |
| The Opéra Bastille | Place de la Bastille | The modern opera house from 1989, home to the big Paris productions |
| Rue de Lappe and Rue de la Roquette | East of Place de la Bastille | The nightlife center of the arrondissement, streets of bars and restaurants open until the small hours |
| Rue Oberkampf | rue Oberkampf | The street that gave the arrondissement its current reputation, with small bars and graffiti |
| The Viaduc des Arts | Avenue Daumesnil, just over the border in the 12th | Old railway arches turned into artisans’ workshops, with the Coulée verte running above them |
| The Église Saint-Ambroise | 71 bis boulevard Voltaire | A 19th-century church with two towers, in the middle of a shopping area with no tourists |
Tours and Activities in the 11th Arrondissement You Might Enjoy
Show me more activities in Paris
And if you’re looking for attractions in the city’s other arrondissements, my Paris attractions page brings them all together in one place.
My Recommended Restaurants in the 11th Arrondissement of Paris
A lot happens in this arrondissement when it comes to food, and my list here is especially varied: from a classic bistro to a Michelin star, with a cat café in between.
| The restaurant | Type | Address | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chez Paul | French classic | 13 Rue de Charonne | A bistro that hasn’t changed in ages, and the place to come for meat |
| Le Bistrot du Peintre | French classic | 116 Av. Ledru Rollin | An Art Nouveau bar from 1902, and the decor alone is worth the visit |
| Origini | Italian | 85 Rue de Charonne | A small Italian place on a street full of restaurants, and it still stands out among them |
| Alluma | Israeli chef | 151 Rue Saint-Maur | Contemporary Israeli cooking in Paris, and that’s less obvious than it sounds |
| Le Café des Chats | Café | 9 Rue Sedaine | A cat café that works for kids and needs booking ahead |
| Santa Carne | On my radar | 3 Bd Richard-Lenoir | A meat place that has made it onto my radar, right next to the Bastille market |
| AMÂLIA | On my radar | 32 Rue de la Fontaine au Roi | It has a Michelin star, so book weeks ahead |
Looking for restaurants in other arrondissements? My page of recommended restaurants is organized by type of cuisine and by arrondissement.
The Food Markets of the 11th Arrondissement of Paris
Five food markets in one arrondissement, second only to the 12th, and among them the Bastille market, one of the biggest in the city with about a hundred stalls. Note that on Sundays part of the Bastille market is organic. The details come from the website of the 11th arrondissement town hall.
| The market | Address | Days and hours | Metro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marché Bastille | Boulevard Richard Lenoir, between rue Amelot and rue Saint-Sabin | Thursday 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sunday 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Bastille |
| Marché Charonne | Between 129 bd de Charonne and rue Alexandre Dumas | Wednesday 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Alexandre Dumas |
| Marché Père-Lachaise | Boulevard de Ménilmontant | Tuesday and Friday 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Ménilmontant |
| Marché Popincourt | Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, between rue Oberkampf and rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud | Tuesday and Friday 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Oberkampf |
| Marché Belleville | Boulevard de Belleville | Tuesday and Friday 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Couronnes |
The Belleville market is the cheapest in Paris and has a North African and Middle Eastern feel, and to me that’s exactly why it’s worth a visit. Besides these five, the arrondissement also has Le Food Market, a street food market held twice a month on Boulevard de Belleville on Thursdays. The dates change from month to month, so check before you go. On my markets page you’ll find the recommended markets in the city’s other arrondissements.
Walking Itineraries in the 11th Arrondissement of Paris
I don’t have an itinerary that takes place entirely in this arrondissement, and one itinerary passes through it and continues east.
Want all the itineraries I’ve written, by arrondissement and by theme? My Paris walking itineraries page brings them all together.
The Next Step in Your Trip
The 11th stretches from the Bastille in the south to Belleville in the north, so it’s easy to combine with its neighbors. To the west, the Marais and the 4th arrondissement are waiting, and to the east, Père-Lachaise and Belleville.
And if you want to be ready in advance for every scenario, my complete Paris guide brings together everything I’ve learned over the years. Have a wonderful trip, and don’t forget to get up early for the market (do it for me).
