Overview
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Beyond Tourism
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Food
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Basics
French cooking is universally renowned and downright delicious. The preparation and consumption of food are integral to French daily life; while world-famous chefs and their three-star restaurants are a valued Parisian institution, you don’t have to pay their prices for excellent cuisine, either classic or adventurous. Bistros provide a more informal, and often less expensive option. Even more casual are brasseries, often crowded and convivial, best for large groups and high spirits. The least expensive option is usually a crêperie , a restaurant specializing in thin Breton pancakes filled with meats, vegetables, cheeses, chocolates, or fruits, where you can often eat for less than you would pay at McDo. The offerings of specialty food shops, including boulangeries (bakeries), pâtisseries (pastry shops), and traiteurs (prepared food shops), make delicious, inexpensive picnic supplies and cheap meals on the go. A number of North African and Middle Eastern restaurants serve affordable dishes. At nouveaux bistros, French, Mediterranean, Asian, and Spanish flavors converge in a setting that is usually modern and artsy. Eating and drinking can easily be the most memorable part of any visit to Paris. Bon appetit!
Value. The following listings are in order of value ; the top entry may not be the cheapest, but it will be the best value in its price range and area. ...more
The islands are crowded with tiny, traditional French restaurants with wood-paneled dining rooms and old-world charm, a vibe they pride themselves upon. Be warned, however, particularly on the Île St-Louis ...more
Île St-Louis is perhaps the best place in Paris to stop for a crêpe or some ice cream while strolling along the Seine. This isn’t the spot for anything more formal (it’s about place, not taste) ...more
The arcades overlooking the Louvre along rue de Rivoli are filled with chic and expensive spots, but visitors can enjoy the surroundings while sipping a tea or chocolat chaud at one of the many salons ...more
2 Ème Arrondissement Châtelet-Les Halles has many inexpensive dining options. Rue Montorgueil is lined with bakeries, fruit stands, and cafe-bars, while side streets around Les Halles contain touristy ...more
3 Ème Arrondissement The restaurants of the upper Marais serve an array of international and traditional French cuisine. Dozens of charming bistros line rue St.-Martin, and kosher food stands and ...more
In the 4 ème , dining is less about the food and more about how you look eating it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a variety of restaurants, from authentic regional fare to new-age fusion ...more
A particularly diverse arrondissement, the 5 ème hosts a score of inexpensive bistros as well as Middle Eastern, Tibetan, and Vietnamese eateries. All along rue Mouffetard, back-to-back restaurants ...more
Restaurants with rock-bottom prices vie for space and customers in the streets enclosed by boulevard St-Germain, boulevard St-Michel, rue de Seine, and the river. Within the tangle, rue de Buci harbors ...more
The 7 ème is not budget-friendly, but it has some of the best gourmet pâtisseries and boulangeries in Paris; try rue St-Dominique, rue Cler, or rue de Grenelle for great picnic fare. The restaurants ...more
The 8 ème has traditionally been Paris’s center of glamorous dining and world-class cuisine. There are still plenty of extravagant establishments, particularly south of the Champs-Élysées, but lately ...more
Bordering the touristy 1 er and 2 ème , restaurants and eateries close to the Opéra cater to the posh after-theater and movie crowd; for cheaper meals, head farther north in the 9 ème . Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre ...more
Many tourists never see more of the 10 ème than their Gare du Nord layover allows. Those who venture out will find French, Indian, and African restaurants with reasonable prices, as well as cafes and ...more
Although Bastille swells with fast-food joints, this increasingly diverse neighborhood offers Spanish, African, and Asian cuisines, among others. They are also a handful of nice restaurants for lower ...more
In terms of food, the 12 ème is a generally affordable arrondissement, where casual establishments serve a variety of cuisines, from North African to Middle Eastern to traditional French. Most of the ...more
Butte-Aux-Cailles And Chinatown (13 Ème ) A budget gourmand’s dream, the 13 ème turns dinner into a culinary foray. Locals fill the Butte-aux-Cailles’s high-spirited restaurants and bars most nights ...more
14 Ème Arrondissement On the busy boulevard du Montparnasse, which frames the top of the 14 ème , travelers can chomp on everything from Tex-Mex to classic Parisian fare. Reasonably-priced Breton crêperies ...more
The 15 ème offers a diverse range of restaurants, with traditional French cuisine alongside Middle Eastern and Asian specialties. Cheap eateries crowd rue du Commerce, rue de Vaugirard, boulevard de ...more
There is high-quality fare to be had in the 16 ème if you have deep pockets. For those with less to blow, budget-friendly ethnic restaurants crowd rue de Lauriston. Picnic fare can be purchased from ...more
Far from tourist attractions, the 17 ème ’s restaurants depend on local support. Fortunately, the district’s economic and ethnic diversity translates into delicious, gastronomical variety. For high-quality ...more
Savvy Parisians have sought Montmartre’s cheap eateries since the eighteenth century, when its duty-free food and wine drew them from the tax-torn capital. Many small bistros still serve modest meals ...more
Little Chinatown provides the finest budget dining in the ethnically diverse 19 ème . Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants cluster along rue de Belleville (Belleville). Greek sandwich ...more
A traditional meal amid Belleville’s cobblestones will reinvigorate as well as refuel you after a day amid Paris’s crowded center. To repose at one of the neighborhood’s trendy bistros or cafes ...more
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