The place d’Italie is another of the city’s vast star-shaped hubs off which a number of busy roads radiate. There’s nothing remarkable here, but a handful of spots nearby merit exploring. At the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins, weavers have been making tapestries for royalty and their like for over four centuries. On adjacent rue des Gobelins, you can admire (but not visit) the fairytale turreted Château de la Reine Blanche, a 16th century building which remains something of a puzzle. And, though there’s little to see, apart from the monolithic Mobilier National (the repository of all government Ministerial furniture), rue Berbier du Mets traces the course of the old Bièvre river, before the dyers of the Gobelins helped finish it off. South-east of here, between avenues du Choisy and d’Ivry, Europe’s biggest Chinatown has infused vibrancy into an otherwise anonymous 1970s development. You’d hardly expect villagey nostalgia round these parts, but south-west of place d’Italie, les Buttes-aux-Cailles offers just that. A fetching nook of flowery lanes and brick-built workers’ cottages, it has a smattering of arty shops, cafes and restaurants.