Sundays in Paris – begin with a stroll through the market! On a recent weekend in the City of Light, three very different markets offered us a range of seasonal specialties. In brief, I recommend…. 1) Saint-Eustache/Les Halles, in the shadow of Saint-Eustache church, this rather small but condensed market brings back to life the neighborhood ambiance of the former grand Halles market (on a much smaller scale!). Be early enough to enjoy a good selection of fresh fruits and cheeses – by 1:00, vendors are busily collapsing their stalls. 2) Beauvau Market Hall on the Place d’Aligre is the hub of a market that sprawls through adjoining streets in the12th (Metro: Ledru Rollin). If you love middle eastern cusine, this is the place to shop. Lebanese breads bake on domed griddles, and plump fresh dates (looking more like gigantic grapes) glow in the autumn sunshine. Pomegranates, neat rows of pears and colorful spices are great temptations in a setting that feels more like a souk than a Paris street market. Inside the Beauvau hall, I always stop at a corner stall, Sur les Quais (tel: 01 43 43 21 09) for oils, olives and all sorts of tantalyzing spices: try their own delectable tomato caviar! 3) Marché Auguste-Blanqui is just off the place d’Italie at rue Barrault. Among my Sunday discoveries were the Vergers de Picardie from Douilly, selling many varieties of apples, pears and their own cider. Further along the aisle, I stopped at the Carpentier family stall for cheese (from Camembert to Cantal) as well as wines. This large stall is also at the Neuilly, Fosses la Chapelle, and Pontoise markets. But on Sunday, when the crowd is a mix of serious shoppers and families with kids in tow, these are three of my favorite spots to shop. A few other Sunday markets are: Marché Enfants rouges in the 3rd, Marché Monge in the 5th on Place Monge, Marché couvert St-Germain in the 6th, Marché couvert Europe in the 8th on rue Corvetto, and Marché Alibert in the 10th next to the hospital St-Louis. In some of the markets, the local ‘Mairie’/town hall has a table with information on markets as well as other points of interest in the quarter. For a more complete list, check the site: www.paris.fr/marches_parisiens