Rue des Martyrs runs uphill from the Grands Boulevards to the edge of Montmartre, and it’s one of Paris’s last great traditional market streets. While tourists crowd the Champs-Élysées, locals come here for their daily bread, cheese, and produce. The street feels like a village high street dropped into central Paris—a place where shopkeepers know their regulars and quality matters more than trends.
This is where you’ll find the kind of Paris you came looking for: independent shops, honest prices, and the rhythm of daily neighborhood life.
The Best Shops on Rue des Martyrs
Start at the bottom of the street near métro Notre-Dame-de-Lorette and work your way uphill. The shops you need are clustered between number 20 and number 80.
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Arnaud Delmontel at number 39 sells some of the finest bread in Paris. His classic baguette tradition won awards, but the pain des amis—a sourdough loaf studded with hazelnuts, almonds, and pistachios—is what locals queue for on Sunday mornings. Get there before 11 a.m. or you’ll find empty shelves.
La Chambre aux Confitures at number 9 stocks over 100 varieties of jam, from classic apricot to unexpected flavors like fig and walnut or cherry and Szechuan pepper. The owner sources fruit from small French producers and makes everything in small batches. A jar costs €8 to €12—expensive, but this is jam that actually tastes like fruit.
For cheese, stop at Fromagerie Quatrehomme at number 62. Marie Quatrehomme is one of the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, which means she’s officially recognized as among the country’s best craftspeople. Her shop smells gloriously pungent, and she’ll guide you to exactly the right chèvre or comté for your needs. She ages many cheeses herself in cellars outside Paris.
Le Bal Café at number 6 isn’t strictly a shop, but it’s the neighborhood’s best spot for lunch. The kitchen is run by Alice Quillet, who cooks simple, seasonal food with British and French influences. The menu changes weekly based on what’s good at the market. Expect dishes like roast chicken with herbs, heirloom tomato salad, or homemade ricotta with grilled vegetables.
The Neighborhood Feel
Rue des Martyrs sits in the 9th arrondissement, a residential area that most guidebooks skip. That’s its advantage. You’re not navigating around tour groups here—you’re dodging grandmothers with shopping trolleys and parents collecting kids from school.
The street splits into two personalities. The lower half, from rue de La Rochefoucauld down to boulevard Haussmann, leans trendy with concept stores and wine bars. The upper half, climbing toward Montmartre from rue Victor Massé, keeps its traditional market-street character with butchers, fishmongers, and fruit stands that have been here for decades.
Both halves work. Walk the whole street in 20 minutes, or linger for two hours if you’re shopping seriously.
When to Visit and How to Shop
Come in the morning, especially Saturday. That’s when the street is busiest and every shop is open. By late afternoon, many food shops have closed or sold out of their best items. Sunday mornings work too, though fewer shops are open.
Most shops close Monday, and many shut for lunch between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Fromageries and bakeries stay open, but the butcher and fishmonger will be firmly closed.
Bring a shopping bag. Paris is past the era of handing out plastic bags freely, and you’ll be juggling multiple purchases. Better yet, bring a backpack if you’re buying cheese and bread for a picnic.
Don’t expect English everywhere. This is a neighborhood street, not a tourist destination. Shopkeepers are friendly but you’re expected to know the basics: bonjour when you enter, au revoir when you leave, and merci in between. Point at what you want if your French fails you—everyone understands hunger.
Getting There and Combining Your Visit
Take métro line 12 to Notre-Dame-de-Lorette or Abbesses. From Notre-Dame-de-Lorette you’re at the bottom of the street; from Abbesses you’re at the top near Montmartre. Either works.
If you’re walking down from Sacré-Cœur, Rue des Martyrs is the natural route back to central Paris. You’ll pass the shops on your way and can stop for provisions.
Combine this with a morning at the Musée de la Vie Romantique on nearby rue Chaptal, or an afternoon exploring the quieter western slopes of Montmartre around Square Suzanne-Buisson. Both are five minutes’ walk away and rarely crowded.
The street also sits just below Montmartre’s tourist zone, which means you get the neighborhood’s charm without the crowds that clog rue Lepic and Place du Tertre.
This is Paris as it still is, not as it used to be. Come hungry, bring cash for the smaller shops, and give yourself time to wander. Subscribe to the Love Paris newsletter for one short story about the city every day—the kind of details that turn a trip into an understanding.
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