Paris Tourist Office/David Lefranc
It was never a conscious decision, but for some reason I always stayed out of the 13th arrondissement. I only went here if catching a movie on Place d’Italie or if I had to buy dried noodles or erotic drinking glasses in the Chinese area (the ones where you see naked women at the bottom when you pour alcohol in!).
The 13th arrondissement has no distinctive reputation. There are some ugly high-rises inhabited by thousands of Chinese immigrants and the hospital where Lady Diana passed away. But I’ve never bumped into anything memorable here.
Paris Tourist Office/David Lefranc
That is, until I discovered Butte aux Cailles. A tiny neighborhood in the 13th arr. concentrated around a few streets on a hill behind the metro station Corvisart. I’ve never felt so far from Paris inside of Paris. Narrow streets and town houses, small court yards with cabinetmaker’s workshops and bars with peeled paint on the walls and crochet curtains. Like a small village, where time hasn’t changed and you can still get sausage from Montbéllard with lentils and bacon for 8,50 Euros.
In Café du Commerce on rue Cinq Diamants, the waiter will make you a damn good cup of coffee with warm milk, and the chef suggests you try their terrine de boeuf. On Sunday afternoons there is a jazz concert with free admittance. But get there early, since the café is no bigger than a living room.
By Louise Sandager, extract from the travel guide PARIS mon amour!, published by Gyldendal.