The best al fresco brunches in Paris

While you're here, enjoy an exhibit at the BAL, the Parisian temple of the documentary image. The team is young, cheerful and cosmopolitan; the décor is warm and the food delicious. The cooks here cut their teeth at the lauded Rose Bakery and all the ingredients are carefully chosen. For brunch, porridge, scones, bacon and other UK-inspired dishes jostle for space on the menu...

Les P'tites Indécises caters primarily to large appetites and pinched wallets. Set in the middle of a sunlit square near Parmentier, this brightly lit restaurant boasts a generous brunch that comes in two varieties: the ‘p’tit dej’ and the ‘complet’, both of which include freshly squeezed juice, your choice of hot drink and an unlimited bread basket with a selection of spreads...

In fine weather, Le Valmy's south-facing tables on the pavement outside are bathed in sunlight. So on Sundays when the canal Saint-Martin is closed to traffic and the clatter of bikes replaces revving engines, it gets pretty busy. On the same brunch plate, you might find peas, vegetables bathed in tzatziki, smoked ham, tabbouleh, beetroot cut into cubes and a slice of quiche...

This historical market takes its name from the 16th-century orphanage that used to occupy the site; the red of the children’s clothes indicated that they had been donated by Christian charities. Although the orphanage closed before the revolution, the imposing wooden edifice remained, and was reopened as a deluxe food market in 2000. Now something of a touristic hotspot, the market is equipped to fill the emptiest of stomachs with its impressive range of Italian, Lebanese, African, Japanese and other stalls....

The Bellevilloise is the latest incarnation of a building that once housed the capital's very first workers' co-operative. Now it competently multitasks as a bar, restaurant, club and exhibition space, hosting regular film and music festivals on the top level (where there's a fake lawn with deckchairs and a massage area). Enjoy Sunday brunch accompanied by live jazz in the Halle aux Oliviers or decent views of the quartier from the charming terrace...

Sitting outside on the cobbled terrace of this brightly-painted café, it feels more like being in Provence than the heart of Paris. Yet on one side of this quiet pedestrian square is the Seine, and on the other the bustling bars and boutiques of the fashionable Marais. Today, what with local bureaucracy, no one could open up this kind of alternative café, but somehow L’Ebouillante has survived...

Thierry Breton, owner of Chez Michel and of this bistrot next door, takes the idea of generous servings to extremes. Chez Casimir lays on ‘le Traou Mad’ (meaning ‘good things’ in Breton), served continually from 10am to 7pm. Think exceptional country bread, charcuterie, seafood, boudin, smoked salmon, salads, omelettes… then casseroles of flaked cod, beef bourguignon and other similarly hearty dishes. Still hungry? Head towards the ‘grandmother-style’ dessert buffet...