Marché des Enfants Rouges

Lunch in this 17th-century covered market in the middle of the Marais is definitely not going to be a peaceful or serene experience. It’s a proper market, so most of the seating is at countertops on tall backless stools where tourists pour over their phones and locals who work nearby enjoy a long lunch break.

Skip the takeaway sandwich stalls and head to one of the restaurants for a sit-down meal: Les Enfants Du Marché is a seafood-heavy natural wine bar, Chez Takeo is a Japanese counter that serves bento boxes and assorted small plates, and The Butcher Of Paris is exactly what it sounds like. The first two (and certainly not the third) have solid vegetarian options, like the breaded porcinis sprinkled with pecorino at Les Enfants, or cool soba with vegetable tempura at Chez Takeo.