Stations and faubourgs
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Porte Saint-Denis

On the south side of boulevard de la Chapelle lie the big northern stations, the Gare du Nord (serving the Channel ports and places north) and Gare de l'Est (serving northeastern and eastern France and Eastern Europe), with the major traffic thoroughfares, boulevard de Magenta and boulevard de Strasbourg, both bustling, noisy and not in themselves of much interest.

To the right of the Gare de l'Est as you face the station, a high wall encloses the gardens of square Villemin, which once belonged to the Couvent des Récollets – the near wreck of a building along rue du Faubourg-St-Martin. Saved from the bulldozers, the convent is due to be renovated whilst the gardens (entrance on rue des Récollets and avenue de Verdun) have been carefully relandscaped and provide a welcome haven from the busy faubourgs beyond.

The liveliest part of the quarter is the rue du Faubourg-St-Denis, full, especially towards the lower end, of charcuteries, butchers, greengrocers and foreign delicatessens, as well as a number of restaurants, including Brasserie Julien and Brasserie Flo, with their superb decors. The latter is hidden away in an attractive old stableyard, the cour des Petites-Écuries. A number of immigrant communities are now well established in the streets running off rue du Faubourg-St-Denis. The glazed-over Passage Brady is the hub of Paris's "Little India", lined with identikit curry houses and one sole Indian grocers' shop. Rues d'Enghien and de l'Échiquier are quieter but have several restaurants, cafés and shops serving the area's Turkish community.

Spanning the southern end of rue du Faubourg-St-Denis, on the edge of the 2^e arrondissement, is the Porte St-Denis, a triumphal arch built in 1672 on the Roman model to celebrate the victories of Louis XIV. Feeling secure behind Vauban's extensive frontier fortifications, Louis demolished Charles V's city walls and created a swath of leafy promenades, where the Grands Boulevards now run. In place of the city gates he planned a series of triumphal arches, of which this and the neighbouring Porte St-Martin, at the end of rue du Faubourg-St-Martin, were the first.

The whole area between the two faubourgs ("suburbs") through to the provincial rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière is honeycombed with passages and courtyards. China and glass enthusiasts should take a walk along rue de Paradis, whose shops specialize in such wares, with the Baccarat firm's collection of exquisite crystal, the Musée du Cristal at no. 30 (open Mon–Sat 10am–6pm; €3; M° Poissonnière & M° Gare-de-l'Est), tucked away with the shop behind the classical facade bearing the names of the Baccarat and St Louis cristallerie. Close by, at no. 18, is the magnificent mosaic and tiled facade of Monsieur Boulanger's Choisy-le-Roi tileworks shop, now closed to the general public, but you can peer through the gate and admire more exuberant ceramics featuring peacock tails and flamingos on the stairs and floors.

Another stop for curio-seekers is the Musée de l'Éventail, or Fan Museum, at 2 bd de Strasbourg (Mon–Wed 2–6pm; closed Aug; €5; M° Strasbourg-St-Denis). In a workshop and showroom dating from the end of the nineteenth century, Anne Hoguet continues the family tradition of fan-making. The workshop takes up the first two rooms and displays a small collection of utensils and materials. In the showroom, walnut drawers and cabinets contain the 900-strong collection of fans which are exhibited by rotation. These days, customers are almost exclusively from the world of haute couture or theatre.

Across boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle, the southern limit of the 10^e arrondissement, are the passages of place du Caire and rue St-Denis leading down to Les Halles.