Rue Cler

A short market street near the Invalides, cobbled and pedestrian

Area 7th arrondissement
Type Market
Time needed 45m

Rue Cler is a short cobbled market street in the 7th arrondissement, pedestrianised along its central stretch between Rue de Grenelle and Avenue de la Motte-Picquet. It is a working food street rather than a market hall: fishmonger, cheesemonger, butcher, greengrocers and bakeries with their displays out on the pavement, among cafes with terraces. Forty-five minutes covers it at a walking pace, longer if you stop to eat.

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Getting there

École Militaire on Métro line 8 puts you at the top of the street in two minutes. La Tour-Maubourg on line 8 and Latour-Maubourg's neighbour Invalides, served by line 13 and RER C, are each about eight minutes away. From Châtelet, take line 1 to Concorde and change to line 8 for École Militaire, roughly twenty minutes; RER C from Saint-Michel to Invalides is a similar time. Buses 69, 80 and 92 all pass within a couple of streets.

What you see

Start at the École Militaire end and walk north. The food shops come in a dense run: counters of oysters and whole fish on ice, cheese cellars with wheels stacked behind the glass, horsemeat and poultry butchers, and two or three bakeries where the queue tells you which one the street actually uses. Produce is stacked outside in crates and priced by the kilo. Side-by-side cafes take up much of the pavement, and there are chocolate shops, a wine merchant and a florist mixed in. It ends at Rue de Grenelle, and the whole street is only a few hundred metres, so you will have walked it twice before you have chosen lunch.

What to pair it with

The Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars are a ten-minute walk west. Les Invalides and the Musée Rodin are the same distance east, and the Musée du Quai Branly sits between the street and the river.

When to go

Tuesday to Saturday mornings are when the street works properly, with deliveries done and the counters full; come before midday. It closes down for much of Sunday afternoon and on Mondays many shops do not open at all, which catches people out. August is thin, as individual shopkeepers take the month off. Midday and early evening are busiest with Americans in particular, since the street has long featured in English-language guidebooks.

What is hard about it

It is a small shopping street with a reputation out of proportion to its size, and its prices and cafe menus reflect how well known it is; locals shop cheaper elsewhere. Several arrondissement markets are larger and less visited. If you arrive on a Monday or late on a Sunday you will find shutters down. Pavements are narrow, there is nowhere to sit without ordering, and the terraces crowd what little walking space there is.

Common questions

How long do you need at Rue Cler?

Forty-five minutes to walk it and look at the shops. Allow an hour and a half if you sit down for lunch or buy picnic food.

Is Rue Cler open on Sunday or Monday?

Sunday mornings yes, Sunday afternoons mostly not, and many shops close on Mondays. Tuesday to Saturday morning is the reliable window.

Can you buy a picnic to take to the Eiffel Tower?

That is the obvious use of the street: bread, cheese, fruit and charcuterie from the counters, then ten minutes on foot to the Champ de Mars lawns.