Ben art work

Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville


In 1993 iconic Niçois artist Ben set to work on one wall of a red-brick building overlooking rue de Belleville. Look up to spot two men appearing to be installing a huge black board, on which it is written in white in the artist's distinctive cursive handwriting 'Il faut se méfier des mots' (Be wary of words).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville attractions

1. Rue Dénoyez

0.18 MILES

One block east of bd de Belleville, narrow rue Dénoyez was known for years as Paris' most dazzling street-art street, with everything from litter bins and…

2. Parc de Belleville

0.21 MILES

Atop a hill 128m above sea level, this lovely park unfolds over 4.5 hectares of urban greenery, with fountains, trimmed hedgerows, a gargantuan slide, a…

3. Musée Édith Piaf

0.47 MILES

This private museum in Ménilmontant, some 1.5km from the birthplace of the iconic singer Édith Piaf and closer to her final resting place in Père Lachaise…

4. Parc des Buttes Chaumont

0.53 MILES

Buttes Chaumont is one of the city’s largest green spaces, with landscaped slopes hiding grottoes, waterfalls, a lake and even an island topped with a…

5. Le MUR

0.54 MILES

Meaning 'the wall' but also standing for Modulable Urbain Réactif (Modular Urban Reactive), street-art canvas Le MUR, on the southern side of the building…

6. Brasserie BapBap

0.67 MILES

BapBap, whose name means 'Brassée à Paris, Bue à Paris' (Brewed in Paris, Beloved in Paris; the latter a twist on 'drunk in Paris', as in 'consumed in…

7. Atelier des Lumières

0.79 MILES

A former foundry dating from 1835 that supplied iron for the French navy and railroads now houses Paris' first digital-art museum. The 1500-sq-metre La…

8. Square Maurice Gardette

0.8 MILES

In the heart of the vibrant 11e, this square was first laid out in 1872 on the former site of the Ménilmontant slaughterhouses, and in 1979 was…