the Sainte Marthe Neighborhood by Heather Stimmler-Hall
The tiny Sainte Marthe neighbourhood is the kind of place you’d never find unless you were looking for it. And that’s just the way the people who live there like it.
The Low-down
Made up of just a handful of streets and the Place Sainte Marthe, this neighbourhood that time forgot is hidden on the edge of the 10th arrondissement, between Belleville and the Hôpital St-Louis. To get there, step off the metro at Belleville and head up the Boulevard de la Villette, passing through the pho restaurants and wholesalers of the Chinese district. Turn left onto Rue de Sambre et Meuse, and left again onto Rue Sainte Marthe. Here you’ll find narrow streets lined with colourful wooden facades faded with time, hidden artist ateliers, and crumbling balconies decorated with flower pots and the day’s wash hanging out to dry. The quiet café terraces of the Place Sainte Marthe feel worlds away from the sterile high rises just two blocks away. Combine these humble surroundings with a lively, international population of immigrants from North Africa, Eastern Europe, the Far East and South America, and it’s easy to see why many Parisians who live here find it reminiscent of the old quarters of Marseilles. When the city placed the neighbourhood on the list for demolition to make room for modern housing, the locals banded together and convinced them to renovate the existing infrastructure instead. So far, the time-worn facades and populaire atmosphere have been spared a drastic makeover, but it won’t be long before the bohemian-bourgeois (bobo’s) move in to change the neighbourhood.
Eating and Drinking
The narrow Rue Sainte Marthe hides many tiny restaurants that features flavours from all over the world (warning: most of these restaurants don’t accept credit cards). At #14 is the Brazilian bistro Ile Kiko (Tel 01 42 45 25 70), and at #6 a Chilean restaurant Tierra del Fuego (Tel 01 42 39 46 21), with specialities from the Andes region. High-quality fusion cuisine from Down Under is served at Bonza (# 19, Tel 01 42 03 27 97), a restaurant and bar owned by a Franco-Australian couple (and not a didgeridoo or rugby jersey in sight). Meet the locals while supporting the area’s non-profit associations with a cheap and cheerful dinner cooked by volunteers at La Rôtisserie (#4, Tel 01 40 03 08 30), where all profits go to whichever neighbourhood organization cooked that evening’s meal (an eclectic menu, to say the least). Overlooking the Place Sainte Marthe is Le Galopin (#34, Tel 01 53 19 19 55), a French bistro serving home-style meals, and the two terrace cafés Le Ste-Marthe (#32, open at night only, Tel 01 44 84 36 96) and Le Panier (also at #32, Tel 01 42 01 38 18). At the top of the street corner is the traditional wine bistro Le Coin de Verre (entrance at 38 rue de Sambre-et-Meuse, Tel 01 42 45 31 82), which serves platters of French terroir specialities and hearty salads to accompany the inexpensive bottles of carefully-chosen wine. A bit like a private home, you have to ring the bell to get in, and if you didn’t reserve you may find yourself in the less-interesting of the two dining rooms.
Nearby Nightlife
You’ll have to go a few streets over to find the best cafés and late-night drinking holes, but it’s worth it for the laid-back crowd, cheap drinks and groovin’ DJ mixes. The newest kid on the bloc is the Zoco Bar (223, rue Saint Maur, Tel 01 42 01 03 92), with a stylish purple interior and live DJs mixing mostly house music nightly until 2am. Overlooking the busy Boulevard de la Villette is L’Ile Enchantée (#65, Tel 01 42 01 67 99), with floor-to-ceiling glass-windows for a loft feel and dancing DJ soirées upstairs on weekends. Just down the road towards Belleville is the retro-minimalist Café Chéri(e) (#44, open daily 9am-2am, Tel 01 42 02 07 87), with a huge terrace taking over the sidewalk, a diverse program of live DJ music, and some of the cheapest pints in town (don’t miss their Happy Hour, 6-8pm).
Nearby Shopping
There aren’t any shops to speak of (yet) around Rue Ste-Marthe,
but there are many artists and artisans in the neighbourhood,
all of whom open their workshops to the public for the annual
Ateliers d'Artistes de Belleville in May ( www.ateliers-artistes-belleville.org ). The closest open market is next to the Hôpital St-Louis,
on rue Alibert, open every Sunday morning. The colourful
Marché Belleville is much larger, every Tuesday and Friday
mornings on the Boulevard de Belleville.
If you’re looking for a bit of exotic décor to brighten
up your Paris flat, head a few blocks east of the Sainte
Marthe area into the heart of the Belleville Chinatown.
The Rue de Belleville (not to be confused with Boulevard
de Belleville) is filled with Chinese grocers, restaurants
and shops selling dishes, Buddha statues and firecrackers.
Two of the better shops include Centre Hong Kong (29, rue de Belleville) and the China Bazar (14-16,
rue Rebeval), which has a wholesale-only sign on the door
that doesn’t stop the retail sales.of green tea and hand-sewn
slippers.
