Rising to the east of the Canal St-Martin, multi-ethnic Belleville and its more upmarket neighbour, Ménilmontant, ooze character. Settled by successive waves of immigrants, Belleville is the Paris that Haussmann left alone. To ensure that it worked both ways, the Baron had sections of the canal covered to provide a strategic defence against the militant working-classes up the hill.

Lower Belleville is a tumult of humanity shopping for halal meat and oriental silk slippers. Uphill, the real village around St-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville has a quaintly provincial feel, in sharp contrast to the concrete uglies of nearby place des Fêtes. Keep an eye out for old collective laundry-houses, grand factory facades and secluded workers’ cottages, many of which have been snapped up by wealthy professionals. The views from Belleville’s modest, vine-covered park give Montmartre a run for its money, but by far the most appealing green space here is the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. Built on the site of a former quarry, this is perhaps Haussmann’s sole legacy to Belleville. Its rambling paths, lake and fanciful belvedere give it real charm, without the crowds you’ll find elsewhere.