ChinaTown (International District) Paris?

My husband and his family are going to Paris this fall for two weeks to visit family. He and his family are Chinese, and we thought we may want to go to %26quot;Chinatown%26quot;. I%26#39;ve seen it mentioned in passing in guidebooks, but very little information otherwise.

We spend a lot of time in the International District (aka Chinatown) here in Seattle, and tend to visit similar areas elsewhere.

Mostly what I am interested in knowing is what is it like? Is it similar to here in the states (distinctive part of town, etc.)? Any good, or highly reccomended resturants,shops, etc? Any other sights of note there?

And actually, where is it? And anything else anyone cares to share!

Thanks -

Sarah

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There are 4 %26quot;Chinatowns%26quot; in Paris.

The two main ones are:

13th arrondissement (metros Olympiades, Porte d%26#39;Ivry and Tolbiac)

Belleville (metro Belleville)

Two smaller areas are:

rue au Maire and environs (metro Arts-et-Métiers)

rue de Torcy and environs (metro Marx Dormoy)

Here is a report on the 13th arrondissement: http://tinyurl.com/od8xtm

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Be aware that menus in Chinese restaurants in Paris are likely to be in French so the dishes will be unfamiliar to you..

The staff is likely to speak perfect Parisian but not English..unless it is a fancy place.

This is only my observation from a few dozen places, so take it with a grain of coriander.

There are other areas in Paris that cater to people coming from various parts of the world:

Africans (mostly from former French colonies) on Boulevard Sebastopol/ blvd de Strasbourg near Gare de l%26#39;Est.

Japanese on rue Ste Anne and rue St Honore (both off Avenue de l%26#39; Opera),

Indus near Passage Brady.

and many more nationalities..

I once saw and talked to families from Shri Lanka that were in pilgrimage at Chartres but forgot to ask where in Paris they lived..

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(The Srilankans are living with me -- I have two temples on my block.)

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hi, about china town in the 13th spread on 2 avenues: Avenue de Choisy and Avenue d%26#39;Ivry. You can take the métro line 7 and alight at either Porte de Choisy station or Tolbiac station. Both stations will drop you off at the limit of China Town area.

You%26#39;ll find many stores selling exotic products: one of the biggest and famous store is called Tang Frères. They have now opened severals stores but the most interesting store to visit is the first one on avenue d%26#39;ivry, ask for Tang Frères, everyone knows where it is. Next Tang Frères is another well known store called %26quot;Paris Store%26quot;.

you will also find many restaurants catering to either western or asian palates although now french people are really keen to taste %26quot;genuine%26quot; asian meals they didn%26#39;t eat severals years ago (IMHO). For instance you may get a special Pho for 7 euros at PHO 14 restaurant (Tolbiac station line #7), good Pho, nothing fancy, come early or expect long queue on the street. I also saw a %26quot;Reviewed on TripAdvisor%26quot; sticker at the restaurant called %26quot;Fleurs de Mai%26quot; but never tried it so can%26#39;t tell you if it%26#39;s worth it.

If your husband speaks mandarin or cantonese there won%26#39;t be any language issues.

No particular safety issues.

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oops I made a mistake: the restaurant with the %26quot;Reviewed on TripAdvisor%26quot; sticker is %26quot;Apsara Celeste%26quot;. 41, Avenue de Choisy. I%26#39;ve never tried them.

You may try %26quot;Fleurs de Mai%26quot; for their Wonton soup. I believe they make their wonton themselves. Small restaurant, often busy. 61 avenue de Choisy.

Pho 14 is 129, Avenue de Choisy.

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And you don%26#39;t even need to go to Chinatown to get a good pho. At least once a week, I go next to my office to Chez Quan at 66 avenue des Champs Elysées (not the sort of place one expects to find a cheap meal, but it is a shopping gallery and Chez Quan is hidden at the back end), and have an excellent pho for 8€ -- they only serve it on Wednesday and Thursday.

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Also, if you%26#39;re staying in an apartment instead of a hotel and want to eat at home, there are good asian traiteurs/delis in every neighborhood.

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Well, thank you everyone for the information. We%26#39;ll more likely go just to check it out. It is entirely possible his family have apartments in the area anyway - I haven%26#39;t been told where they are at as of yet.

Here at home we all enjoy trying out all the latest asian resturants. I%26#39;m relatively sure my MIL has tried every resturant in Seattle%26#39;s International District (Chinatown).

That being said - I think we%26#39;ll all really enjoy checking it out. Language is no barrier. My MIL speaks, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, French and English. My husband speaks Cantonese and Vietnamese. I know enough french to navigate a menu.

If we want to eat chinese at home - we%26#39;ll cook it though! ;o)

Thanks again! We%26#39;re looking forward to our trip.

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kerouac2 thanks for Chez Quan address, I think I%26#39;ll visit them one day for lunch :p

Do they serve %26quot;chinese-like%26quot; Pho or %26quot;vietnamese-like%26quot; Pho?

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I would say it is Vietnamese style, but then again I am not really familiar with Chinese style pho.