A Visit to Rungis Market – by Ken Osei

For Any Serious “Foodie” a Trip to Rungis is Worthwhile:

Marche Rungis

An article that I had read on this website about the Marché Rungis inspired me to include a Rungis market visit as part of our Paris trip itinerary in early January 2013.  Rungis offers group guided tours of the market on the second Friday of every month, but unfortunately we were not going to be in Paris on the tour date.

I made contact with the people at Visite Rungis and was quoted a private tour rate of Euros 350.  This was the cost of a guided tour only for two people and did not include any transportation from Paris or the return trip. As keen as we were to visit Marché Rungis, Euros 350 was a bit steep a price to pay.

Determined to Visit Rungis

It was Christmas Eve and with just over a week before our trip to Paris, I sought advice from this website as to whether anyone knew of how I might get to tour Rungis without paying the exorbitant fee – yes, we were really determined to make the Rungis Market a part of our Paris experience!

On Christmas Day, I had a reply from Helen (from Travelsignposts) and Martyn, another visitor on the site, and between the two of them I was given the name of a contact at Rungis Market.

Our Rungis Market Guide

We ended up going to Rungis but used a different guide to the one that was recommended. Our guide, Philippe Bardet, has over 25 years’ experience working at the market. Philippe still works at Rungis for a seafood wholesaler but arranges tours of the entire market in several languages including English, French, German, Norwegian, to mention a few. He is well known by people throughout the market.

Fruit and Vegetable at Rungis

Our Rungis Market Experience

The Rungis Market tour was amazing! We started at 5 am with a visit to the seafood hall, this was followed by visits to the poultry and game, meat, fromageri, the vegetable and fruit pavilions and the pavillon de la triperie.  Some may find some of the sights at the poultry, game and meat halls disturbing, with things such as shelves of cow and pig heads on display.  If you are squeamish, you should let your guide know to by-pass these sections.

For any serious “foodie” a trip to Rungis is worthwhile – it is the largest wholesale food market in Europe, providing fresh food to restaurants and wholesalers throughout Europe.

Meat Hall at Marche Rungis

Visiting Rungis

Rungis is a city in its own right, and is located close to Paris Orly airport with lots of hotels nearby.  A tour of Rungis requires an early start. You have to arrive no later than 5 am and the tour ends at 8 am. Note that Marché Rungis is a professional wholesale market and it is not possible to visit Rungis without being accompanied by a Rungis tour guide.

Philippe’s e-mail contact is philbardet@hotmail.com. I highly recommend him to anyone who has a keen interest in where fresh, gourmet food found in leading European restaurants, really comes from.

I was motivated by the information on this website to make the trip to Rungis and I hope that by sharing my experience, other foodies will be inspired to make the early morning hike to Rungis to visit this incredible wholesale market.

Address:
Marché Rungis
1 rue de la Tour
BP 316
94152 Rungis cedex

Things to do in Paris

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