A walk along the modern-day Avenue de Clichy is a colorful experience, where a tourist will find people of a huge range of nationalities and social classes glancing in the windows of the discount clothing, phone card, and book and CD shops that line either side.

La Fourche is a place where elegant apartments on a stretch of the rue Legendre are just a quick walk from the gritty Avenue de Clichy, a place where a yoga center (rue St.-Jean), a hammam (Hammam Eiden, rue Legendre), and a large Catholic church, are just a street or two apart. St.-Michel des Batignolles, the aforementioned church, is a sort of microcosm of the area's variety. Started in 1913 and completed 20 years later, the Romano-Byzantine-style structure's red brick exterior contrasts sharply with the grey-white cobblestones of the Passage St-Michel where it's located. The church's stone interior recalls early Italian Gothic architecture, and is decorated with Icon-like frescoes and Academic as well as modern religious sculpture.

Even when it comes to dinner, La Fourche offers a world of choices. Restaurants specializing in delicacies from Africa, Asia, and the East Indies are scattered among Parisian cafés and brasseries. Yet in spite of this variety, most of the neighborhood's shops, eateries, and residences are still housed in "typically Parisian" late 19th-/early 20th -century buildings. (Some especially charming examples can be found dotting the rue Hélène and the rue Nollet.) This architecture keeps a major period of the city's past in plain view. Add to this La Fourche's cultural diversity for a quartier that perfectly captures the soul of contemporary, global Paris.