CAMILLE

Fusing classic chanson with beat-boxing, Camille Dalmais won a BBC World Music award last year, and has been called “the French Björk”. Her new album is Music Hole

I love the Marais neighbourhood: I got my start in the tiny theatres there, places like Le Point-virgule andLes Blancs Manteaux, which have bars out front and a cave-like space with 60 or so bench seats – very warm and participatory.

At Les Blancs Manteaux, I used to take the theatre’s cat on stage with me. That district is a little commercial now, though – for a younger vibe, you need to head a few streets north, to the quarter around Square du Temple.

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There are lots of cosy, old-style Parisian cafes there for discussing and debating, but there are also chic little boutiques and galleries such asLe Petit Endroit, which showcases avant-garde fashion, art and photojournalism. I especially enjoy theMarché des Enfants Rouges, which is hidden behind an iron gate on Rue de Bretagne.

It was named after the red uniforms of the children at a nearby orphanage, and it’s a vintage Paris food market – the sort tourists often miss. What’s great is that the stallholders prepare hot food, and you can sit at communal tables on the street and eat – very convivial. There is a great Japanese stand, and a Moroccan place that does tagines, but my favourite is the brasserie L’Estaminet, which is quite boisterous and does excellent boudin– blood sausage – served hot with apple sauce. That’s the ultimate Parisian lunch!

Details: the Marché des Enfants Rouges (39 Rue de Bretagne) is open Tuesday to Sunday, as is L’Estaminet (00 33 1 42 72 28 12); the Sunday brunch menu is £17. Le Petit Endroit is off Rue du Temple at 14 Rue Portefoin.

ORIEL CAINE

Oriel went to Paris on a university research project and never came home. She and her husband, Peter, have run the tour company Paris Walks since 1994

Every visitor goes to Montmartre, but they head straight up to the Sacré Coeur and see only the tacky souvenir shops.

They’re missing my favourite neighbourhood, down below – a place with authentic Parisian spirit. Sunday morning is our best time there. We love Rue Lepic, with its family-run shops stacked with charcuterie and fromagerie.Les Petits Mitronsdoes grandma-made quiches and chocolate fondants, all gooey inside – I can recommend the walnut ones. For lunch, we like La Mascotte, where all the locals sit at the bar having aperitifs to traditional accordion music.

The pavement art in Montmartre is so commercialised, but I love popping into Henri Landier’s studio: a proper working space, cluttered with easels. Even Montmartre’s cinema, Studio 28, is family-run – it’s where Cocteau’s films were premiered and still has that vintage feel. They show a good range of intelligent English-language cinema. Finally, you mustn’t miss the cemetery– not as famous as Père Lachaise, but just as atmospheric.

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