If you want to buy fresh vegetables or fruit in Paris, you go to a market. Each arrondissement has at least one, in total around 80. Some take place twice a week, others six days a week from Tuesday to Sunday. (No markets on Mondays.)

The Marché Auguste-Blanqui ist one of my favourites. On a Sunday morning you leave the Métro at Place d’Italie and find yourself on a french village market. Or at least that’s the impression you get. The market goes along the pavement under big trees and people are busy evrywhere, trying zo geht through with their kids in buggies or their shopping in trolleys or the traditional “cabas”. The stands are overboarding with all kind of fruit and vegetable, but there’s also butchers, bakers, dried herbs and spice, oriental food as hoummous, olives with lemon, harissa,… or whatever you like, wine, cheese,… and for those who do prefer not to cook themselves there’s all kind of food ready to eat, libanese pizza, roasted duck with potatoes, akkras,… to reheat at home or to eat on the go.

It is neither the cheapes market of Paris nor the one with the highest quality all over, but it’s a very good “value for money”. Closer to the place d’Italie you find the cheaper stalls, where some fruit may bee a little unripe yet or in the need of beeing eaten immediatly (which doesn’t have to be a disadvantage…) or coming fom cheap production like from Spain or the Netherlands. But thus fresh food is available also for those who have only a modest income.

Where I usally buy is closer to the other end, where it’s getting more expensive, but the quality is even better, too. Like apricots from the Provence, Tomatos from the south-west, chicken from Bresse, a really excellent choice of raw milk cheese,… Some organic food, too. Also on the market: different kinds of honey, home made confitures, fresh fish,… We usually bring more home than we can cook and eat while we stay in Paris. But as I’m buying very fresh products, I can bring them home and prolongate the pleasure.

address: Boulevard Auguste Blanqui between place d’Italie and rue Barrault, 70013 Paris. Tuesday, Friday, 7 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Métro : Corvisart, Place d’Italie)