I Love My Neighborhood: Porte de Versailles, Paris

Welcome to the first edition of I Love My Neighborhood!

Whenever I travel to a new place, I wonder: What’s it like to not be a tourist in this city? What is life actually like, living here?

For me, one of the things I love most about being an expat is the opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture and experience life as a local: being friends with the local baker, having drinks with your neighbors, finding the best spot for coffee, knowing the bus and metro lines by heart. I know I’m not the only one, so I’ve asked expats from across the globe to share the joys of local life they’ve found in their corner of the world.

Emily of Tomato Kumato: Why I Love Porte de Versaille

When I first moved to Paris, I lived in the center: first the 7th (you may know it from that big tower thing in the middle of it) and then the 5th, right near the historic shopping street rue Mouffetard and not far from the Panthéon. When I was looking for an apartment in Paris after having moved back to the States for a few months, I was dejected, to say the least, not to find something in one of my favorite neighborhoods, but I dutifully went on visit after visit, popping up out of métro stations I had never seen in my nearly-four years in the city.

When I visited Porte de Versailles, I was convinced I wouldn’t like it: the neighborhood, for me, is at least half, if not more, of the draw of an apartment, and I’d been spending my time in Paris with the extremely narrow view that any métro stop with a “Porte de” (literally “door to,” and usually signaling a neighborhood halfway between the Parisian banlieue and the rest of the city) was a bad, bad choice. Imagine my surprise, then, when I ascended the métro stairs and found myself surrounded by a small enclave of Haussmanian apartment buildings, a fairly bustling local shopping street, and one of the largest hosts of professional salons and exhibitions in Paris.

While I no longer live in the same apartment, I’m still in my neighborhood, at the far-flung limits of the 15th arrondissement. It’s a far trek for those who live north of the river, but it’s also fairly easily accessible from most parts of central Paris. What I like about it is that, unless you have a reason to be here, you aren’t… it’s my little haven of Paris, and I wouldn’t change it.

My Local Market

I do write a food blog, so where I get my food is important to me. In Paris, there are several supermarket chains, some more coveted than others. Within walking distance, I have a Franprix (basic), a Monoprix (huge and varied), a Dia (cheap) and a Proxi (open late). The perfect combination of the things I need and the time I want to get them: there’s nothing worse than having a late-night ice cream craving and nowhere to quell it.

That being said, I rarely shop at the supermarket, because I have my market, my typically Parisian street market at boulevard Lefebvre, every Wednesday and Saturday. I only discovered it this fall, but I’ve been loyal ever since. I have favorites who recognize me: my cheese guy who always knows that I want morbiers and chèvre frais; my fruit and vegetable guy who once offered me his jacket, “While you shop,” on a particularly windy morning.

My Cheese Place

When I’m not visiting my market, I do have another place I go to fulfill cheese cravings: La Ferme du Hameau. This is a smaller cheese shop than some of the others that I frequent, but while this means I don’t always find exactly what I’m looking for, what I do find is exceptional. I find it’s best to go with no expectations and choose the thing that looks best that day. The salespeople are always happy to help when I don’t know what I want! I especially like the auberge-esque quality inside this tiny shop, barely big enough for four customers at once.

Ferme du Hameau
223 rue de la Croix Nivert

My (Occasional!) Brushes with Touristic Attractions

When I lived in the 7th, I was constantly hearing English. Don’t get me wrong; I like English. Most of my friends in Paris are fellow expats, and when we get together, over wine and cheese and baguette, the language spoken is English. That being said, when I chose to move to France, an important part of that decision was the fact that I wanted to speak French, and moving to the 15th took me out of the path of most tourists, into a neighborhood where most people are here because they live here.

That being said, I do live right next to the Palais des Expositions, home, notably (at least to me) to the Salon du Vin, the Salon du Chocolat and the Salon de l’Agriculture. Yes, the streets fill with cars and, on the occasion of the Salon du Bateau, boats. Yes, the lines at my Franprix get ridiculous. But I’m within walking distance of paying 12 euros for unlimited free samples of chocolate, so I’m going to chalk it up to a win.

My Neighbors
Paris – like most cities – isn’t the sort of place where you get to know your neighbors. But because I’ve lived in two buildings within 300 meters of one another, I’ve gotten to know enough people by sight to feel as though I actually live in a very small town… and the fact that both of my concièrges (who live on the first floor of Paris apartment buildings and serve as janitors, supers, and mail-delivery-people) have been exceedingly friendly means that when I go off to market or leave early for school and pass one of them walking their dog or sweeping the stoop, I get a friendly, “Bonjour!” What can I say… it’s the simple things.

My Secret Park

I lived in this neighborhood for more than two years before I discovered the abandoned railroad track behind my building. Soon to be converted to a park (like the High Line in my native NYC), for right now, it’s just an overgrown area of trees and grass, where homeless men like to park their fold-up chairs and have a beer or 7. As for me, I get a rush from climbing the wall (don’t tell my local préfecture) and wandering along the abandoned tracks. I get odd looks from the people who live overlooking it, but that’s half the fun. Soon, my secret park won’t be so secret; I’m sure I’ll still like it, but for now, it’s mine.

My Perfect View of Sunsets

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About Emily: Emily (alias Emiglia) is a native-New Yorker who moved to Paris in September 2007 to finish an undergraduate degree and somehow managed to stick around another four years. Her food- and Paris-related ramblings can be found on her blog, http://www.tomatokumato.com, or by following her on Twitter @emiglia.

All photos courtesy of the author.