The 13th-Century Paris Street That Just Made a Global Coolest List
Time Out just dropped its 2025 coolest streets ranking, and a narrow 13th-century lane in the 3rd arrondissement has landed Paris at number 13 worldwide—a solid seven spots higher than Rue de Belleville’s 20th place showing last year.
The winner? Rue des Gravilliers.
If you’re picturing the usual suspects—the 11th, 18th, or 20th—think again. This unassuming Marais thoroughfare has quietly assembled everything that makes Paris magnetic right now, all packed into a few walkable blocks near Arts et Métiers métro.
Why This Street Works
The narrow strip tells the story of modern Paris in miniature. Century-old façades house the last traditional leather craftsmen working alongside Jixiao’s Buns (serving some of the city’s best Asian canteen food from Paris’s oldest Chinatown).
Art galleries like Balice Hertling and PACT showcase emerging artists a few doors down from Taka & Vermo’s cheese counter and Sain’s sourdough loaves.
The new guard is here too: Finka, Mischief, and Derrière pull in crowds, while Datil—helmed by chef Manon Fleury, winner of Time Out’s 2024 Best Restaurant award—serves plant-based plates that landed it on this year’s ranking. Cocktail bar Le Spootnik rounds out the scene.
The Bigger Picture
Time Out’s annual list taps its global network of editors to nominate streets that capture their city’s best qualities right now—food, culture, nightlife, community spirit. This year’s top spot went to Rio’s Rua do Senado, with Osaka’s vintage-packed Orange Street taking second and Porto’s Rua do Bonjardim claiming third.
Paris climbed the rankings with Rue des Gravilliers, a street that’s managed something increasingly rare: staying authentically local while evolving into one of the city’s coolest corners. The Marais was nearly demolished 60 years ago; today, Time Out calls it “the epicentre of trendy Paris.”
Seven places up from last year’s showing. Not bad for a street that’s been here since the 1200s.
