Where is the best view over Paris from Belleville?

From the Parc de Belleville, opened in 1988 in the 20e. It sits at 108 m and is the highest park in Paris, with a terrace at the top that looks out over the city and a small vineyard of Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Pyrénées, Couronnes and Belleville are the nearest métro stations.

Which métro station is nearest to Père-Lachaise in Paris’s Ménilmontant?

Philippe Auguste, on line 2, is next to the main entrance of Père-Lachaise cemetery; Père Lachaise station, on lines 2 and 3, is about 500 m away by a side entrance. The cemetery opened in 1804, covers 44 ha and is the largest in Paris.

Which cafés in Belleville and Ménilmontant, Paris, stay open late?

Le Zabar at 116 Rue de Ménilmontant and Charlotte on Rue Belgrand serve 07:00–02:00 every day, and the Bistrot littéraire Les Cascades on Rue des Cascades opens 11:00–02:00 from Tuesday to Sunday. Le Papillon on Rue de Bagnolet stays open until 01:00.

Cafés in Belleville & Ménilmontant (20e), Paris

Belleville and Ménilmontant were villages on the hills of northeast Paris until the annexation of 1860, and Belleville’s hill ties with Montmartre as the highest point in the city.¹ Ménilmontant, on an 87 m hill north of Père-Lachaise, filled with guinguettes (open-air drinking places) in the 18th century, because wine outside the city’s tax line was cheaper.²

Both were working-class strongholds in the Commune of 1871, and Belleville today has one of the city’s two Chinatowns and a market on Tuesdays and Fridays.¹² Its cafés are mostly bars and neighborhood counters: Rue de Belleville has the most, followed by Rue de Ménilmontant, Rue des Pyrénées and Rue de Bagnolet.

Local tip: Climb to the terrace at the top of the Parc de Belleville for the view over Paris, then walk down Rue de Belleville, where Le Celtic opens at 06:00 every day.⁴

At a glance

99Cafés listed

26With opening hours

00:00Earliest opening

02:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: Chacha, from 00:00 (Mon–Fri 00:00–02:00, 07:30–23:59 · Sat–Sun 00:00–02:00, 08:00–23:59).

Closes latest: Bistrot littéraire Les Cascades, until 02:00 (Tue–Sun 11:00–02:00).

Most listed streets: Rue de Belleville (8), Rue de Bagnolet (6), Rue de Ménilmontant (6).

Most common features: indoor seating (39%), outdoor seating (36%), open late (12%).

Getting to Belleville and Ménilmontant

Belleville, Pyrénées and Jourdain stations serve Belleville.¹ Line 2 stops at Ménilmontant, Couronnes and Père Lachaise, and line 3 at Père Lachaise and Gambetta.² Philippe Auguste, on line 2, is next to the cemetery’s main entrance, while Père Lachaise station is about 500 m away by a side entrance.³

Parc de Belleville and Rue de Belleville

The Parc de Belleville, 4.5 ha laid out in 1988 at a height of 108 m, is the highest park in Paris; a terrace at the top looks out over the city, and a small vineyard grows Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.⁴ Pyrénées, Couronnes and Belleville are the nearest stations.⁴

Édith Piaf grew up in Belleville, and a plaque at 72 Rue de Belleville marks her link to the street; street art covers Rue Dénoyez.¹ On Rue de Belleville, Le Celtic at No. 16 opens at 06:00 every day, and Koni at No. 70 opens 08:00–18:00 on weekdays.

Père-Lachaise and Rue de Ménilmontant

Père-Lachaise, opened in 1804, covers 44 ha and is the largest cemetery in Paris; Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde and Chopin are buried there.³ From the 20th century artists, musicians and students moved into Ménilmontant, and bars line Rue de Ménilmontant.²

Maurice Chevalier was born in Ménilmontant, and the neighborhood turns up in the films Casque d’or and The Red Balloon and in a Charles Trenet song named after it.² Le Zabar, at 116 Rue de Ménilmontant, opens 07:00–02:00 every day, and L’Ariel Café at No. 51 opens at 07:00 from Monday to Saturday.

Late bars and Sunday hours

On Rue des Cascades, the Bistrot littéraire Les Cascades opens 11:00–02:00 from Tuesday to Sunday. Charlotte, on Rue Belgrand, serves 07:00–02:00 daily, and Le Papillon at 144 Rue de Bagnolet stays open until 01:00.

The 20e is a big residential arrondissement, with 191,800 people in 2017 on about 6 km².⁵ Belleville took in successive waves of newcomers: German Jews and Spaniards in the 1930s, then Algerians and Tunisian Jews in the early 1960s.¹ The neighborhood runs through Romain Gary’s novel La Vie devant soi, the animated film The Triplets of Belleville and Daniel Pennac’s Malaussène books.¹

Specialty coffee is rare in the 20e, but Sunday coffee is easy: most cafés here open on Sundays.

Cafés in Belleville & Ménilmontant (20e)

At a glance

Bambin

Bistrot littéraire Les Cascades

Café Pimpin 20

Candle Kids Coffee

Charlotte

Comptoir Landrin

Floréal

Jolie Môme

Koni

Le Barbouquin

Le café des délices

Le Houblon du Vin ème

Le Papillon

Lithium café, radio

Natema Café

Plural

Brunchy Café

L'Ariel Café

Le Celtic

Le Saint-Fargeau

Le Zabar

Les pères populaires

Tabac des Pyrénées

Trombone

Blondie Café

BOKBAR

Boken

Cafe Tunis

Créa'Café by Lou

Culture Rapide

Hydromel Cafe

Inguana Café

L'Émir

L'imponderable

La tablerie

La Vie devant Soi

Coffee chains in Belleville & Ménilmontant (20e)

Starbucks

Getting to Belleville and Ménilmontant

Parc de Belleville and Rue de Belleville

Père-Lachaise and Rue de Ménilmontant

Late bars and Sunday hours

Sources

More of Paris

Louvre & Les Halles (1er)

Bourse & Sentier (2e)

Le Marais (3e & 4e)

Latin Quarter (5e)

Saint-Germain-des-Prés (6e)

Opéra & SoPi (9e)

Canal Saint-Martin (10e)

Oberkampf & Bastille (11e)

Montmartre (18e)

Belleville & Ménilmontant (20e) cafés: questions

Where is the best view over Paris from Belleville?

Which métro station is nearest to Père-Lachaise in Paris’s Ménilmontant?

Which cafés in Belleville and Ménilmontant, Paris, stay open late?

Own a café in Belleville & Ménilmontant (20e)?