7 Best Paris Food Streets: A Guide for Visitors & Foodies

Are you visiting Paris, or perhaps planning a future visit, and wondering "what's next?" after you've checked the most iconic attractions such the Eiffel Tower and the Musée du Louvre off your bucket list?

Consider exploring one of Paris's iconic market streets, xxx insert names of a few xxx where you'll find shopkeepers selling luscious fruits and veggies, vast arrays of French cheeses, all kinds of fresh fish and meats, gorgeous bunches of flowers, and tantalizing boulangeries (bakeries) and patisseries (pies, cakes, and other yummy treats) and even chocolatières where tantalizing aromas will pull you inside.

You'll get a glimpse of a part of Parisian culture that's been around since at least the Middle Ages, and if you're staying in an apart'hotel or apartment with a kitchen during your visit, you'll also find the perfect place to buy daily groceries or even prepared food to microwave.

During my very first trip to Paris as a 20-year-old, I happened by chance to stay near the wonderful Rue Mouffetard street market in the Latin Quarter - still one of the city's very best.

Having grown up in an American suburb defined by large supermarkets accessible only by car, I loved the new-to-me experience of strolling down a narrow car-free lane while buying perfectly a dinner's worth of delicious farm-fresh food, chatting with the vendors and other shoppers along the way.

The Best Tasting Tours of Paris Street Markets

Here a few of my top recommendations:

Paris Gourmet Food Tour - Explore the Rue Mouffetard street market as well as other superb markets in the Latin Quarter as you sample a variety of food along the way
Aligre Market Walking Food Tour & Tasting - Sample delicious treats as you explore Aligre's covered indoor food market and outdoor street markets near Place de la Bastille
3-Hour Montmartre Cheese, Wine, and Pastry Tour - Explore the Rue des Abbesses food street and small side streets as you learn about this neighborhood's food culture and savor a number of tastings
Marais Walking Food Tour - Visit the Marché des Enfants Rouges, Paris's oldest covered market, and other artisan shops, bakeries, and markets as you enjoy numerous tastings

Despite their long history as the heart of daily neighborhood life, the Parisian market streets do evolve with the times. These days, you'll also find assortments of carryout food, coffee shops, cafes, and perhaps even a few boutiques selling clothing, luggage, or household items.

A couple of these food streets even include supermarkets, which can't really compete with the street market vendors on the basis of quality or price but are handy if you need non-edible items such as garbage bags.

By now, I've shopped along every Paris market street many times. Each one offers a different experience, and in this article, I'm sharing 11 of my favorites. With only a couple of exceptions, they're mostly in the single-digit arrondissements where you're most likely to be if you're visiting Paris for the first or second time.

I'm also including a few tips about what else to do near each market street and even where to stay in the vicinity, plus at the end of the article, you'll find brief information about more places to shop for food in Paris: covered markets (including several with historic glass roofs), temporary farmers markets, and a special store loved by busy Parisians with no time to cook.

Here are the Parisian food streets you'll find in this article:

Rue Mouffetard - Latin Quarter, 5th arrondissement
Rue des Martyrs - SoPi (South of Pigalle), 9th arrondissement
Rue de Levis - Batignolles, 17th arrondissement
Rue Montorgueil - Les Halles, 1st & 2nd arrondisseents
Rue Cler - Gros Caillou, 7th arrondissement
Rue des Abbesses, Montmartre, 18th arrondissement
Rue d'Aligre, Quartier Aligre, 12th arrondissement

Top photo: Display in a Paris produce market in the Latin Quarter neighborhood, (c) Paris Discovery Guide®

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5 Quintessential Paris Food Streets to Explore

Rue Mouffetard: A Lively Paris Food Street in the Latin Quarter

Pastries in a Montmartre bakery — Place de la Contrescarpe, where the Rue Mouffetard market street begins and you can enjoy the lavendar blossoms on the paulownia trees in late April

Start your exploration of the Rue Mouffetard market street at Place de la Contrescarpe, perhaps first enjoying a coffee at one of the cafes clustered around the square before starting your stroll down the cobbled lane, once a Roman road connecting Paris's Right Bank with Italy.

Start your exploration of the Rue Mouffetard market street at Place de la Contrescarpe, perhaps first enjoying a coffee at one

Recommended Rue Mouffetard Food Tasting Tour

Rhe home of Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, and other starving artists, has become a favorite of some of the city's best food artisans, markets, and bakeries as you sample their creations on the small-group 3-Hour Montmartre Cheese, Wine, and Pastry Tour.