Rue Daguerre -A Lively Market Street Longing to be Explored

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Rue Daguerre market street is a delightful little street in Paris’ 14th arrondissement. The pedestrianized section of the street exudes both a liveliness and tranquility, leaving you with a neighborhood feel here in the heart of Paris.

What Fun Awaits Near Rue Daguerre ?

Even if you are just traveling through Paris via gare Montparnasse with a couple of hours to spare, this would be the place to explore. Rue Daguerre is a short but interesting street between Avenue du Maine and Avenue du Général Leclerc.

Of course, if it happens to be a Wednesday or Saturday, I find I am easily distracted by the huge market that runs the length of Boulevard Edgar Quinet. There is also an artists market , Marché Parisien de la Création, here every Sunday that we thoroughly enjoyed !

Edgar Quinet Friday Market

And as Blvd Edgar Quinet follows beside the Montparnasse Cemetery, stop here and have a look around as well. It has a variety of interesting and sometimes intriguing monuments. This statue is particularly beautiful.

Cemetière Montparnasse

The artist is Niki de Saint Phalle an AIDS activist and a friend of Jean-Jacques Goetzman who died of aids. At the base of the sculpture it reads “À mon ami Jean-Jacques, un oiseau qui est envolé trop tôt” (For my friend Jean-Jacques, a bird who has flown too early). De Saint Phalle honored another friend who also died of AIDS and is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery.

Exploring Rue Daguerre’s Pedestrianized Section

Food

Interesting shops can be found all along the length of rue Daguerre. However, the end nearest the Catacombs is completely pedestrianized which makes it ideal for wandering and people watching.

The Denfert-Rouchereau Metro is the closest metro stop. On the corner of Rue Daguerre you immediately see the lovely Café Daguerre where you can stop for a drink or come back for a meal. Just across the street is a HUGE Monoprix. I love shopping Monoprix for souvenirs to take home. Trust me, its not just a grocery store !

Café Daguerre, Paris

Rue Daguerre is a market street, just like Rue Cler. If you are staying in a self-catering apartment, bring your shopping bag as the green grocers, fromageries and boucheries abound. Certainly try a poulet roti (roasted chicken) and the tasty little potatoes that are cooking in the drippings in the bottom of the oven.

This boucherie is easily found by just looking for the horse heads up above the shop of Julien Davin, Boucherie Chevaline. Those horse heads are there for a reason. Yes, you guessed it ! This boucherie sells horse meat. However, those are chickens in the the roaster and the cow statue assures you there will also be beef found here.

Boucherie Chevaline

Yes, there are clothing shops,

shoe stores, and other shops besides food but this is a market street ! We loved exploring all the shops such as the Gastronomie du Perigord. This shop sells foods that are typical to the Perigord region of France.

Fromagerie Androuet has an amazing selection of cheeses. So does Fromagerie Vacroux and they really know how to get your attention !

Fromagerie Vacrous

Famille de Mary is one of my favorite shops. They are a French family business that began in 1921 in the Anjou. They specialize in honey and honey products from all different regions of France and will happily explain the nuances of each type.

Besides the Food we loved this….

Half toy shop half book shop, Les Cousins d’Alice (Alice’s Cousins) was a repeat stop for us. The shop just explodes with tempting things to buy. With more than 40 years of catering to Paris children, they know exactly what kids like.

Les Cousins d’Alice

This traditional Cordonnerie (shoe repair shop) sells belts, wallets and other leather goods in addition to repairing shoes. You can imagine with all the walking Parisians do each day, the shoe repair shops replace a lot of soles.

Cordonnerie – shoe shop

Ready to Dine or Stop for a Treat?

If you arrived via the Metro Denfert-Rochereau, the Café Daguerre was possibly the first thing you saw. It was bustling every time we passed by.

However, we chose to return to La Belle Ronde twice ! This delightful crêperie is tucked down a short alleyway off the main street. Was there a sign ? I definitely don’t remember seeing one but curiosity led us to see what was beyond the greenery.

The cool shade of the enticing greenery definitely caught my eye on that hot August day. Inside it is bright and colorful with welcome air conditioning. However, the courtyard that greeted us on arrival sports lots of shade and has a peaceful ambiance. The first time we dined here we ate outside and it was lovely.

La Belle Ronde

The menu offers lots of choices at prices we felt were comparable to any crêperie we have visited in France. It was a great option if you are traveling with small children as it is open from noon to 11:30 pm, continuous service. Being able to stop for dinner at 6pm made for a very happy toddler.

This tiny little tea shop had a huge selection of tea to choose from even if it was short on seating.

Amorino gelato shops are all over Paris. I will shamelessly admit I have them all tagged in my Google maps so I know if one is nearby.

Amorinos gelato – pistachio and chocolate, topped with a raspberry macaron

And, of course, any boulangerie will always provide a tasty selection of pastries. This particular one has plenty of tables outside to enjoy your tea/coffee and treat.

Boulangerie-Patisserie Thevenin

Map of Places We Visited on Rue Daguerre

We were in Paris for just one week and we enjoyed visits to Rue Daguerre on three different occasions. It was a great place to shop and then return to the apartment and cook !

I tagged places to eat that we enjoyed and places we visited.

Mon histoire de la rue Daguerre (en bref) en français…

J’aime la rue Daguerre car, comme la rue Cler, c’est une rue de marché. Même s’il y a beaucoup d’autres choses à proximité comme le marché Edgar Quinet et le cimetière Montparnasse, je veux centrer cet article uniquement sur la rue Daguerre.

Le secteur de la rue Daguerre réservé aux piétons est proche des Catacombes. Donc le métro Denfert-Rochereau est la station la plus proche de la rue. Au début de la rue, le magasin Monoprix et le café Daguerre vous accueillent. Ce Monoprix est plus qu’un supermarché ! Ici, on peut acheter presque n’importe quoi, qui le fait un très bon lieu pour acheter les petits souvenirs français pour vos amis de chez vous.

Les petits boutiques de la rue

Parce que nous avons loué un appartement pas loin de la rue Daguerre, nous avons profité bien de tous les petits marchands comme des boucheries, des boulangers et pâtissières, des fromagers, et des primeurs. En revanche, il y avait d’autres boutiques qui nous intéressaient.

Par exemple, La Gastronomie du Périgord vend la nourriture typique du Périgord et il y avait beaucoup de choses qui ont tiré notre regard. En plus, j’étais contente de trouver la Famille de Mary, un de mes magasins favoris. Il a son origine dans l’Anjou et je profite de la variété des produits du miel dans leur magasin chaque fois que je rends visite à mon amie à Angers. Selon leur site web « la demeure de Famille Mary est située depuis 1921 dans un moulin à eau du XVIIème siècle au bord de la rivière de La Moine, dans la vallée de La Loire. Au moulin de Beau Rivage, nous vivons au cœur de la nature et au rythme des saisons, profitant du climat clément de l’Anjou. »

Bien sûr, il y a d’autres magasins non alimentaires que nous avons appréciés. Les Cousins d’Alice est un magasin moitié-joué moitié-livre pour les enfants. Il était là depuis 40 ans et il plaisait à notre petite-fille.

Le café Daguerre est bien connu mais nous avons choisi la Belle Ronde, deux fois! C’est une crêperie qui est un choix parfait pour les enfants. Caché au pied d’une petite allée, vous trouverez le café avec une terrasse en avant, couverte de verdure. Pour notre dessert, nous avons profité de la crème glacée italienne chez l’Amorino. La rue Daguerre est très conviviale avec ses jolis cafés et petits magasins mais, il vraiment prend vie dans l’heure d’apéro. Vous pourrez passer une belle après-midi ici et puis finir avec un bon dîner.