Sunday Organic Market @ Marché Raspail, Paris

One of the things I love doing when travelling to a new place is to check out where the locals shop for food supplies - be it at the supermarket, convenience store or a market. In my search for markets near our hotel, I found Marché Raspail, touted to be the most glamourous and the most expensive market on the Left Bank (Rive Gauche, south of the river Seine), where French celebrities get their groceries (not that we would know one if we saw one!). The market runs on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, but I understand that the exclusively biologique (organic) market is only on Sundays. So on the morning of our Day 2 in Paris (which was a Sunday), we headed out with glee and empty stomaches for Marché Raspail. Along this length of the Boulevard Raspail, we browsed through a lovely variety of edible goodies, although there were also plenty of stalls selling inedible items such as soaps, flowers, scarves and household items. Seeing all the fresh fruits and vegetables, the fish and the meat, and the lovely blocks of cheese and tubs of yogurt, made me wish we had a fridge and a kitchen in Paris to use. We had to settle for immediate gratification, filling our tummies with delicious baked goodies, and buying half a rotisserie chicken to have later for lunch.

One of a number of bakery stalls selling all sorts of delicious-looking pastries, tarts, biscuits and breads. We bought a few things including a croissant for the boy to munch on, a buttery brioche for me and a pastry for hubby:

The pastry hubby chose, which was buttery and had a layer of berries in the middle:

One of the many stalls selling fresh organic produce:

At the northern end of the market, there was a particularly popular food stall with a long queue. It was the delicious aroma wafting from hot griddles that pulled us in to have a closer look:

Les Gustalins was the name of the stall, and galettes d'oignon pomme de terre (onion-and-potato pancakes) was the name of that yummy charry pancake-like objects on the hot plates. Delicious eaten hot fresh off the plate, and the burnt cheese gave a nice crunch to the pancake:

Les Gustalins also sold tarts and pies, both savoury and sweet, made with organic fruits and vegetables. Pumpkin, onion, tomato, rhubarb, apple, mushrooms and cheese - just to name a few:

In addition to the potato galette, we also purchased a pumpkin tart and a citron tart from the stall. Delicious crispy pastry and lightly seasoned filling/topping. The citron tart was a nice something-sweet to finish our market-bought lunch:

This bio market is definitely worth a look at if you're in Paris on a Sunday. Everything is indeed quite pricey, but they are all certified organic!

Marché Raspail
Boulevard Raspail
From Rue du Cherche-Midi to Rue de Rennes
6th Arrondissement
Nearest Metro stops: Sèvre-Babylone and Rennes
Sunday (organic market): 9:00am to 15:00pm
Tuesday and Friday: 7:00am to 14:30pm