You Tube Rue Cler Video 3 weeks ago

Hi JR, indeed, all cafes and restaurants were closed from October 28th until May 19th (two and a half weeks ago).

As of May 19th, they were allowed to open their OUTSIDE sections ONLY (terraces, if they have one). In addition, curfew was changed from 7 pm to 9 pm.

So things are a lot more livable now than they were less than three weeks ago.

As of this upcoming Wednesday (June 9), restaurants and cafes will be allowed to open inside as well (but only at half capacity), and curfew will be pushed to 11 pm.

It's been a long, long time coming.

(Just to note that also on May 19, museums and cinemas and non-essential shops were also allowed to open, but again not at full capacity. So basically we had a very long nearly seven months with none of the above. Gyms can finally open next week.)

Thanks Kim for the update. It was quite sad to see everything shut down. We know it is of great relief for you to finally have some normalcy back. We look forward to our next visit. It was tough not being able to go this past year.

One has to wonder what the survival rate will be for those who were closed down for so long. Hopefully, they recover.
Good to know it's coming back!

Well, according to the detractors of Rick there should’ve been no one there. The only people that go to Rue Cler according to the naysayers only tourists are on the Rue cler.

I think this pretty much proves that’s false

The survival rate is going to be good for those in the restaurant business. Employees were paid 80% of their normal salaries by the government and owners have received subsidies to help cover their fixed expenses.

Still, there will likely be a lot of changes to the restaurant/hospitality business as well as to many small shops and boutiques.

Rue Cler has a lot of tourists, particularly those from the US. I don´t particularly recommend it for tourists because it is rather isolated with few métro stations, and much more limited bus service than is found for example in the Marais, St Germain, or in the Latin Quarter. The food stands selling produce and other such items along rue Cler are astronomically priced. Home delivery from la Grande Épicerie might be cheaper.

I think whether you prefer rue Cler or not might depend greatly upon how much time you have spent in or how often you have stayed in other popular neighborhoods.

Of course Parisians live in the rue Cler neighborhood, but pre-Covid, rue Cler itself was always, in my experience, packed with American tourists, many carrying Rick’s book and talking loudly, because Rick has highlighted rue Cler for decades. Many of us have tried to get new posters here to consider more authentic neighborhoods, ones without the extreme concentration of Americans.

Of course Parisians live in the rue Cler neighborhood, but pre-Covid, rue Cler itself was always packed with American tourists, many carrying Rick’s book and talking loudly, because Rick has highlighted rue Cler for decades. Many of us have tried to get new posters here to consider more authentic neighborhoods, ones without the extreme concentration of Americans.

Please don't view this as argumentative, but I've stayed on the Rue Cler two of my last three trips to Paris. If there were Americans there (apart from myself and my wife) they certainly weren't going out of their way to announce themselves. I haven't seen a single RS guidebook in someone's hand, I haven't heard anyone talking loudly in English (with the single exception of a woman braying 'DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?' at a cheese shop on my second trip), and I don't see how the street is inauthentic given that Macron lived on it for years. In fact, I like staying there because it's easy-going, has pretty much everything I need as far as provisions go, and I like the vibe.

Obviously, anecdote !== data; YMMV; IMHO; My Two Cents; etc. etc. etc.

-- Mike Beebe

Mike, Paris is my home town, and every time I’ve been to rue Cler starting in 2001, it has been full of American tourists, it’s only one little street so it’s noticeable to me, and that’s what makes it in-authentic imo. From reading this forum for 18 yrs, and having a lot of friends who spend time in Paris, I am not the only one that has experienced this. But that’s good that you haven’t.

I will edit my post to say “always, in my experience”.

Susan - my experience on rue Cler reflects your experience and I have seen Americans carrying the RS guidebook as they walk down rue Cler - not that I am there that often.

There is probably a very good explanation why some Americans do not notice how loudly other Americans speak English, particularly in restaurants.

Despite having visited Paris regularly since 1977 I'd never heard of Rue Cler until I started posting in forums habited by people who read Rick Steves guidebooks. I've still not been there, although I know it is much touted as a market street (whatever one of those is).

From Streetview it looks like any other Parisian street that has some shops, but not as good as Rue Daguerre in the 14th, Rue de l'Annonciation in the 16th, or even rue de Meaux in the 19th.