Hotel du Nord

NileGuide Expert tip:

If you want to quote the film, Arletty said "Atmosphere? Do I look like a girl who wants atmosphere?"

Description:

• Cleverly restored in a shabby-chic style, this historic Canal Saint-Martin café was one of the stars, along with Arletty, of a 1938 Marcel Carné film which every French person can quote. With just a few pavement tables by one of the canal's humped green bridges, it draws a fairly young arty crowd. Chef Pascal Brébant gets into the mood with a medium-priced modern French menu chalked on the blackboard. It changes frequently according to what's fresh in the market and what's in season, but it is as likely to include a hamburger as a steak tartare. You can drop by for cocktails at the bar without having a full sit-down meal. By the way, there are no rooms to rent here now and you can rest assured the place has long put behind it it's one-time nickname of  l'hôtel des poux volants ("the hotel of the flying lice").
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