#Yvette van Boven shares her favorite shops - markets in Paris

Yvette in Paris, photos © Oof Verschuren

As we mentioned before, we love to share recipes and tips at the kitchen table. Our Kitchen Table Friend number 4 is Yvette van Boven. who knows everything about Paris. Last week she shared her favorite restaurants and bars with us. this week she reveals where to shop for beautiful pans, cookbooks, and kitchenware. On her list you’ll also find the best markets of Paris and a great address for oysters and wine.

Merci (3e arr.)

‘This department store, for modern people, has an organic restaurant for lunch downstairs and a café in the front at the book section. It’s a good place for browsing. If you want to buy clothes, bring a big bag of money. They also sell beautiful glass items, and a lot of Dutch design, like Droog. You can order a take-away salad too and, for example, eat it on a bench in the small harbor of Bastille.’

111, boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris, http://www.merci-merci.com/. métro: Saint-Sébastien Froissart

Marché St. Pierre (18e arr.)

‘At this large and 100-year-old department store they sell all kinds of fabrics: fine French table linens, upholstery fabric, summer cotton, lace, leather . On leaning floors, men dressed in blue dustcoats are serving you. The store is located at the ‘market quartier’: since long the place for textile stores. It’s a feast to walk around in this neighborhood with its curved little streets.’

Rue Lepic (18e arr.)

‘The area of Rue Lepic is one of my favorites. Rue Lepec is the street where the café of Amélie Poulin (from the movie Amélie) is located (Café le 2 Moulins ). It’s a hot spot for tourists, but also for some serious food shopping. There are al kinds of delicatessen stores right next to each other. Don’t miss Les Petits Mitrons at number 26, a beautiful shop where they sell cake (http://lespetitsmitrons.fr ), go to Le Comptoir Colonial at number 22 for spices, tea, and coffee (http://www.lecomptoircolonial.com ). And there is much more, go explore yourself.’

Rue Lepic, 750018 Paris, métro: Blanche

Le Grande Epicerie de Paris (7e arr.)

‘A department store that only sells food. No, not a supermarket, but a large delicatessen store. The first time I visited I got tears in my eyes. Just watching the butchers tying meat ‘French-style’ is a feast.’

L’Epicerie de Bruno (2e arr.)

‘For every spice and a good advice, I go to L’Epicerie de Bruno.’

Cafés Verlet (1e arr.)

‘For the best Lapsang Souchong I go to this beautiful coffee and tea shop. Only top quality here. Yum!’

256, Rue St. Honoré, 75001 Paris, http://www.verlet.fr. métro: Tuileries, Palais Royal of Pyramides

G. Detou (2e arr.)

‘If you need something that is hard to find, go to G. Detou. If you pronounce it right, it sounds like j’ai de tout = I have everything. And it’s true: they sell really odd things. They have all kinds of mustards, pickles, and all the ingredients that you might need for baking and patisserie. Everything!’

58, rue Tiquetonne, 75002 Parijs, http://gdetou.com. métro: Étienne Marcel

La Vaissaillerie

‘For cheap (white) kitchen and dinnerware, and for things you never new you really could not do without, go to La Vaissaillerie. Whenever I’m in the area I have to enter this shop. My God, how much did I buy here!?’

Several locatioan in Paris, check the website: http://www.lavaissellerie.fr

E. Dehillerin (1e arr.)

‘Yeah, a famous shop. Men in blue dustcoats will help you. A little touristy, but it’s a very good store for copper pans and knifes.’

18, rue Coquillière, 75001 Paris, http://www.e-dehillerin.fr. métro: Les Halles

A. Simon (2e arr.)

‘I love to come here to buy kitchenware. The store is located in a couple of buildings next to each other. If they don’t sell it, it probably doesn’t exist. China, glassware, bakeware, pans, out of this world!

48, Rue Montmartre, 75002 Paris, geen website, métro: Étienne Marcel of Sentier

La Bovida (2e arr.)

‘Another address for kitchenware. They also sell extremely expensive pans, pans you can only dream of. Just around the corner of A. Simon (see above).’

36, Rue Montmartre, 75002 Paris, http://www.labovida.com. métro: Étienne Marcel of Sentier

La Librairie Gourmande (2e arr.)

‘Take some time for this cookbook store. It looks small at first, until you discover there’s much more upstairs! They also sell antiquarian books. Great store, nice people.’

Rouger Plé (3e arr.)

‘When you are in a creative mood, go to Rouger Plé. right across the winter circus, Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione. and close to Merci (see above). Floors filled with all kinds of art supplies, how delightful! They have more stores in Paris, but I always go to this one.’

13-15, Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, 75003 Paris, http://www.rougier-ple.fr. métro Oberkampf of Saint Sébastien-Froissart

My favorite markets

‘A very good website to discover Paris’s many markets is http://marche.equipement.paris.fr/. Because, truly, every neighborhood has its own market. Many of them are open on Sundays, when a lot of stores are closed. Most markets close around 1 pm, so try to get up early.’

Puces de Vanves (14e arr.)

‘A very nice flea market. It has it all: collectors’ items, ‘brocante’, and antiques. You’ll never leave this market empty-handed, I bought half my furniture here. It’s not that expensive either. Never ever go to the Marché aux Puces Sant-Ouen. it’s a tourist trap and highly overpriced. Open every weekend from 7 am to 2 pm.’

Avenue Marc Sangnier et Avenue Georges Lafenestre, 75014 Paris, http://pucesdevanves.typepad.com. métro Porte de Vanves

Marché Bastille (12e arr.)

‘Huge market, just like the Albert Cuyp in Amsterdam! Open Thursdays from 7 am to 2.30 pm, Sundays from 7 am to 3 pm.’

Place de la Bastille- boulevard Richard-Lenoir, 75012 Paris, no website, métro Saint Paul of Bastille

Marché d’Aligre (12e arr.)

‘An indoor market, but so nice! Also open on Sundays from 7 am to 1.30 pm, and closed on Mondays. It’s a kind of multicultural market, with products from Africa. The best place to find Moroccan herbs, couscous, pickled lemons, and a good address for French cheese, second hand stuff and retro clothes as well.’

rue d’Aligre, 75012 Paris, http://marchedaligre.free.fr/index.htm. métro Ledru-Rollin of Gare de Lyon

Yvette in front of Le Baron Rouge © Oof Verschuren

Le Baron Rouge (12e arr.)

A must-do on Sunday afternoons after visiting the market: go to the wine bar across the street. Here you eat oysters on the sidewalk and can order all wines by the glass. There are more than 200 wines to choose from! The high tables are made of crates and a wooden board, as simple as that. You can also order a plate of ‘Charcuterie’ or ‘Fromage’ (both 10 euros). You’ll end up with a huge plate of rillettes, sausages, ham and bread. If you’re running out of bread, and you’re close to the bar, you’ll get a new basket filled with bread instantly. It’s such an amazing place, I love it! It’s as crowded as a tapas bar in Barcelona. When the place is really packed, your food and drinks arrive over the heads of other guests. Just go there!’

1, rue Théophile-Roussel, 75012 Paris, geen website, métro Ledru-Rollin

Marché des Enfants-Rouges (3e arr.)

‘A great market for ‘street food’, located in a beautiful street. It’s the oldest indoor market in Paris, dating back to 1612. There is a large garden where you’ll find about 20 stands with vegetables, fruit, cheese, meat, and fish. A few other stands offer ‘street food’, that you can enjoy while standing at the counter or while sitting outside on an improvised terrace. Choose from Moroccan, Lebanese, Italian or Japanese food. It owes its name to the orphanage that once was situated here, the children wore red jackets.’

Café Charlot (3e arr.)

‘Just across the Marché des Enfants-Rouges, at the corner of rue Charlot, you’ll find this café. It’s très cool in the fashion scene, it has WiFi and a large terrace. I can really recommend this one as well.’

38, rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris, web: http://www.cafecharlotparis.com. métro Filles du Cavalaire

Do you want to know which Parisian restaurants Yvette recommends? Follow this link