My favorite street in Paris – Rue Montorgueil

Paris is full of iconic landmarks and ‘must see’ places and ‘must do’ activities. I lived part time in Paris for for a few years,  So friends often ask me what they should spend time seeing and doing, I always add one ‘surprise’ to their itinerary – rue Montorgueil. 

Highlights:

• It feels like a Paris movie set – sort of the Paris neighborhood you were hoping to find.
• The five block long street is the center of a large ‘walking district’. In Paris. this means people are walking mainly in the street which is nearly devoid of any traffic (usually only small delivery vehicles which can only go the speed of the people walking.)  
• A totally non-touristy feel to the street (places like; fruit & vegetable stores, cheese shops, bakeries, and pastry shops – (5 bakeries at last count)
• More than 50 restaurants within a block of the main street
• Only a 10-12 minute walk to the Louvre or Notre Dame.
• Money Corner (more on this below)

Drawbacks:

• More tourists ‘discover’ this gem of Paris every year so it can gat a bit crowded with both locals and tourists.
• It is a bit lost on kids. While these are a couple small toy stores the only really fun kid thing is the park at le Halle, which does have a very nice kids section. 

One thing I love to do when showing people Paris is come to rue Montorgueil from a cross street. All the streets that cross rue Montorgueil are walking streets except rue Etienne Marcel, which is a main street that is the border between the First and Second Arrondissements (districts). As we walk towards rue Montorgueil on one of the narrow side streets there are local shops and lots of restaurants. And then once we are on the wider Montorgueil, they are surprised by the vibrant bustling of people out. Mostly Parisians doing shopping, visiting with neighbors and sitting in the café’s and restaurants (which seems to be the national French professional sport.)

This scene brings a smile to almost any foreigner who comes to rue Montorgueil. At once you are feeling like you stepped into a movie set and also that you are now part of a true French neighborhood experience.

My favorite cheese shop on rue Montorgueil

I also recommend to friends that they stay near this area if they can. While there are a couple of nice boutique hotels, there are also several Airbnb-type apartments for short-term rental. I like stepping out of my apartment building into a walking street and with all the local feel of Paris right there. I have my favorite bakery and cheese shop. I go to the ever-popular le Lezard bistro for steak and frites or their roast chicken (and my wife and I sometimes like to stop there on ‘burger night’ when the mood strikes us.)

Locals buying fruits and vegetables for dinner.

And this brings us to “Money Corner’.

One of the side streets, rue Marie Stuart, creates a T intersection with rue Montorgueil on which three café/restaurants have the prime locations. They are Le Compas, Bianco, and Maria By Cesar. I first came upon this corner in 2009. Over the ears, I have walked by this corner at all hours of the day and night.  And almost always these restaurants are for customers. Super late or super early they may have only a few, but virtually all day long they have people sitting at the outdoor tables enjoying life, food and friends. I mentioned to my wife one time that the owners of these establishments were ‘printing money’. And since then, I got into the habit of calling it “Money Corner’. 

 You should try to find the time to join the crowd at Money Corner if you can. It is a nice way to experience the wonderful feeling of rue Montorgueil.

My granddaughter and our dog are enjoying a walk around the rue Montorgueil neighborhood.

While rue Montorgueil’s current appeal is to some degree based on its vibrancy as a neighborhood, it historically served as a ‘foodies’ street. Les Halles which is at the south end of the street, was once the food distribution center for all of Paris. Food-related stores were located along rue Montorgueil. Thus making it a well-known street. One of Monet’s most popular paintings was of a festival occurring on rue Montorgueil.