The promenade starts at Place de la Bastille with its pillar and...

...the Opéra de la Bastille

Once you walk into Rue de la Roquette, from Place de la Bastille, you begin to feel the particular ambiance of this Neighborhood. The beginning of the street is very animated : restaurants, cafés, boutiques...
After few walking distance you will discover on your right hand side, the street named rue de Lappe. It's really the most lively area of this district. Throughout this street, restaurants alternate with bars and cafés.

The more famous spot is certainly the Balajo. It's a very old dancing hall, which still attracts all dance addicted, mostly of latino and tango dances.

After some pas or a drink in a Tapas bar, I suggest you to have dinner in an excellent restaurant le "CAFE DIVAN". Nostalgia and contemporary ambiance mixed, the service is friendly and the dishes always tasty. Customers are 30-45 yo, and always a little bit fashion ! "Raw" decor but of good taste.

After a drink, a dance and good food, while you continue your walk, you will discover one of the most recent church in Paris : Notre Dame de Bonne Espérance. It's up to you to decide to stop and to penetrate. Take a quick look !
From here you are 3 minutes by walking distance from La petite roquette 3.

Just after the church and from a very few walking distance, take the first street on your right and you will enter in the street named rue Keller. La petite roquette 3 is located in this street. Here, you'll find some fashion boutiques from new creators (Anne Willi), some specialized shops in mangas (Tonkam), modern art galleries and some bars of which some Gay & Lesbian ones.

When you come back and continue to walk in the rue de la Roquette, you will pass in front of a little book shop which is specialized in second hand comics, then a synagogue, other shops and restaurants to finally arrive at a place named Place Voltaire, formerly Place Léon BLUM, who's statue is on the left. This place also contains the town hall of the 11th arrondissement of Paris. When crossing the place, always in direction of the end of rue de la Roquette, you can do your shopping at very typical Parisian shopkeepers such as : cheese merchant, vegetables merchant, bakery, butchery, wine merchant ..
You have all at your disposal nearby the apartment...

After your shopping you'll discover les vestiges of the ancient prison de la petite Roquette. Nowadays only the porch subsists and the location has been transformed in a very nice garden with trees and flowers. While you'll take a little walk inside you'll can sit on the many benches in fornt of the funtain. In the back of the garden a terrain has been specialy designed for children.

The prison de la petite Roquette has been built in 1830. It was considered as the more modern prison in the town with improved security and also the "comfort" of the prisoners. In front of the actual porch, don't miss the vestige of an ancient guillotine. You will see 5 granite pavements on which the guillotine was based. At this place only civil prisoners were decapitated. Hopefully, the neighborhood of la petite roquette is much more peaceful nowadays !

After these Après ces strong emotions, you can stop at the Bar des Artistes which is on a very nice and shady place. Here you can drink various and original coktails or just a good glass of French wine.

And then here you are ! At 1st floor, the 2 widows on the right (La petite Roquette 1) and on second floor same windows (La petite Roquette 2). It is a building from 18th century but well maintained. The apartment has been totally reniewed in 1999, to give again its yore cachet to value the beamed ceiling, and the wall in stone of Paris... Also we've given all the confort of modern life. To visit the apartment, click here.

By continuing a little, you access to the entrance of the Père Lachaise. The Père Lachaise is a very surprising and intersting cimetery. First of all it is reputed to be a promenade area where Parisians like to come. It is like a park. But it is also a place full of history. Illoustrious personalities are there like : Molière, Parmentier, Kardec, Maria Callas, Yves Montand et Simone Signoret or Jim Morisson.... To know more about the Père Lachaise, you can consult this site.