Designed by Canadian architect Carlos Ott, the Opera Bastille was officially opened by President Mitterand, on July 14, 1989, the bicentennial of the French Revolution. Constructing an opera house in this popular quartier in eastern Paris was then highly symbolic, and marked a desire to make culture more readily available to more people.

All year long at the Palais Omnisport de Paris-Bercy (usually simply called the “POPB”), there are concerts, and sports events like ice-skating, judo, or moto-cross competitions.

The quartier around the avenue Ledru-Rollin and the Place d’Aligre are certainly worth a visit, especially on Sunday’s, the day of the local market. This is one of the most lively and animated markets in Paris, and also one of the least expensive. But its most appealing feature is its stalls, which boast an enormous variety of products from North Africa and the Caribbean (spices, dates, tapenades…).

The 12th arrondissement has an average population density that’s lower than that of the 11th, even though their populations are very close in number (136,000 inhabitants). The 12th gets even larger if you include the Bois de Vincennes (Vincennes Forest) as part of it. The Bois de Vincennes is home to the annual Foire du Trone (the biggest fair in France), the Jardin des Fleurs (Flower Gardens of Paris), and the ancient Chateau de Vincennes, whose keep remains to this day the tallest medieval structure in Europe.