Marché St. Eustache-Les Halles is all that remains of what was once the site of the city's largest food market. Later replaced by Rungis, Les Halles was where chefs, store owners, and shoppers of all sorts came to stock up on fresh ingredients.

Whether you are attracted by the history of this marketplace, it's central location near the charming Montorgueil neighborhood, or the convenient hours it keeps, there are plenty of reasons to visit the vestiges of what once was Paris' primary food source.

It is worth noting that this market, along with a few others including Marché Bourse and Marché Anvers, is one of a small number of Parisian food markets that stays open late enough on a weekday for shoppers to stop by on their way home from work.

What remains of the market is hardly a fraction of its predecessor and, unfortunately, there is not a farmer in sight at any of the stands that line the rue Montmartre. However, the products on offer are mostly of French origin and predominately seasonal.

French vegetables, chickens, and cheeses are for sale at various stands and the poissonerie was proudly displaying Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops), for which the fishing season opened on the 1st of October.

I was attracted by some heirloom veggies, including gorgeous purple "haricots verts" at a stand that was manned by a seller who knew his stuff. He instructed me how to prepare the "green" beans and then served me some lovely cèpes and told me what to do with those, too.

He bagged up my dinner ingredients as the smells of hot lunch wafted through the market stalls. Like most afternoon markets, Marché St. Eustache-Les Halles caters not only to forward-thinking shoppers who are getting the evening's groceries, but also those who seek instant gratification and some homemade ratatouille on their lunch break.

The majority of the produce at my chosen veggie stand seemed to come from France and the vendor's knowledge of each product implied an interest and investment in his profession. Doubting very much that he was actually the grower of the vegetables (the selection was too large and varied to come from one farmer), I decided to ask if he was a producteur anyway.


"Mais non!" he responded, slightly offended. "How can you expect me to be the producer- I spend all my time at the markets!" Point taken. This is an unavoidable issue for the independent producers that we see at markets, who have to split their time and lengthen their days by being both grower & seller of their produce.

So while there are no local producers present at the Marché St. Eustache-Les Halles, it is still possibel to find French-grown food and quality products, all while enjoying a stroll around this truly charming neighborhood.

Marché St. Eustache-Les Halles
rue Montmartre, 75001
m° Les Halles (line 4)
Hours:
Thursday: 12h30-20h30
Sunday: 7h-15h

Libellés : 75001, Marché of the Month, open late, open Sunday, open Thursday

Located in front of the palace-turned-convention-center, Palais Brongniart, the small agglomeration of tents that makes up the Marché Bourse serves the surrounding community of bankers and business people who gather at Place Bourse for their pause déjeuner.

Marché Bourse is one of the few markets that is open in the afternoon (along with Marché Anvers, Marché Baudoyer, and Marché Bercy) allowing short lunch breaks and late nights at the office to be rewarded with a hot lunch and a selection of bio wines.

Open until 20h30, Marché Bourse is a good market to keep in mind if you, like me, have a hard time making it to the morning markets.

The market stands mostly offer hot meal options served to go (no seating area is provided for market-goers). A variety of international options, such as Indian curries and Moroccan bricks and sandwiches are available to stoppers-by. Vegetarian options are limited as are organic ingredients (the veggie-friendly Bio Burger is a short walk away for hungry herbivores).

While I was disappointed to see that at at Marché Bourse fresh fish and veggies were limited to one stand each, both offering industrial-looking products, I was thrilled to find that the market has a caviste who specializes in organic wines made by independent producers.

Since naturel wines are my current obsession, I went directly to this vendor (who advertises his English speaking skills and I'm sure is happy to chat with foreigners and the French alike) and chatted with him about the various vintages he had for sale.

Of all the bottles, he showed me three that were low-sulfite natural wine options (I ended up deciding on a Sauvignon from the Touraine region for €8,50).

Working closely with small vineyards, this vendor develops a relationship with the producers and hand picks a selection of quality wines to bring to market. This relationship is important to take into account when it comes to "natural wines" as the term is a wide umbrella for various methods of wine-making and only a knowledge of the producer and his or her winemaking process will guarantee that your wine is truly au naturel.

A concentrated yet quality selection of wines from many French regions is offered at this stand, with three different bottles open and available for tasting. These bottles rotate every week, and the friendly vendor suggested I visit him next week to do a more extensive tasting of his vins naturels.

This particular wine stand makes the Marché Bourse worth a visit. Weather on your way to an apèro and in need of a bottle to go, or after a nice lie-in and an afternoon stroll down to the market for a wine cellar restock, Marché Bourse is open for business.

Marché Bourse
Place de la Bourse
75002
m° Bourse (line 3)

Hours:
Tuesday 12h30-20h30
Friday 12h30-20h30

Libellés : 75002, Marché of the Month, open Friday, open late, open Tuesday, organic booze, vins naturels

Happy Saturday to you! If you're like me and getting off to a slow start today you might be wondering if you'll make it to the marché before closing time. I however, am tranquil because I already picked up my organic peaches and apricots at Marché Anvers.

Libellés : 75009, Marché of the Month, open Friday, open late, organic