☰Belleville

Belleville is where Paris's immigrant communities — Chinese, North African, Vietnamese, Turkish — have layered their cultures on top of a working-class French neighbourhood, and the result is one of the most interesting parts of the city to eat and walk around. The main drag, Rue de Belleville, is lined with cheap, excellent restaurants covering half a dozen cuisines. The Parc de Belleville, built on the hillside, offers a panoramic view of the city that rivals Montmartre's but without the crowds. Street art is everywhere, especially around Rue Dénoyez, though the area is gentrifying fast and murals compete with new coffee roasters and natural wine bars. Édith Piaf was born on these streets — or so the legend goes. Come here for the Paris that most visitors never see, one that feels genuinely lived-in.