A quiet, middle-class residential area in what was the city's poorest region in the 19th century, today the quartier's slew of modern (ca. 1930's-present) apartment buildings dominate the landscape, and form a sharp contrast with occasional Haussmannian edifice or early 20th century brick buildings.

The area may not feel like the Paris most of us imagine, and yet this is one of the oldest regularly inhabited parts of the City of Lights. For just one bit of proof, walk up the rue Corvisart where there's a marker commemorating the site of a medieval mill (an apartment building with a mouth-watering boulangerie on the ground floor now occupies the space). The melange of past and present is even more apparent in the small, quaint tangle of streets that make up the Butte aux Cailles. Here, modern shops and cafés exist alongside old houses and charming cobbled streets and alleyways. The area is like a smaller Montmartre, (thankfully) without the overwhelming crowds. It even has its own sort of Sacre Coeur, in the view of the nearby church of Sainte-Anne de la Butte aux Cailles, which was constructed in the same period and in the same style as Montmartre's signature basilica.

When it comes to eating, staying in touch, or getting pretty, the quartier Auguste Blanqui doesn't disappoint. The neighborhood's got tanning beds, general and specialized grocery stores, and boasts an Internet café, and even a weight-loss center for those who've overdone it on brie and baguettes.

There may not be many touristic sites in this quartier, but it's good for walking, with the pleasant, tree-lined eponymous Boulevard, and the charming little streets of the Butte aux Cailles. The Butte's sloping Passage Boiton is especially picturesque. There are also some interesting discoveries along the way, such as an amazing antiques depot on the rue Vergniaud, that buys and sells everything old, from books, jewellery, and sculpture, to a giant green bust of the Statue of Liberty -- giving you a mix of kitsch and culture that's just another interesting juxtaposition in this neighborhood of opposites.