The Paris neighborhood around the Canal St. Martin was long known more for decaying warehouses than for its wrought iron bridges. Then came the popular movie Amelie, with its title character skipping stones along the nearly three-mile-long canal, and the tree-lined waterfront in the 10th arrondissement became a perennial up-and-comer. Finally, the tide has turned for the quartier, and its rough edges have been smoothed out for picnics and promenades. “Like Shoreditch in London, or Williamsburg in New York, it’s where the new things are being created in Paris,” says business owner Mickael Benichou.

Sweet spot – Industrial-chic Liberte bakery puts new spins on old favorites. Order the “bobo au rhum” dessert, its name a nod to the neighborhood’s hipsters, whom Parisians call “bourgeois bohemians” or “bobos.”

Show time – Take the pulse of the indie music scene at Point Ephemere.

Save the date – During the art-centric Nuit Blanche (“white night”) on the first Saturday of October, Paris parties all night in gallery-rich districts such as Canal St. Martin.