I have a friend/yoga student who is in Paris right now and she's emailed me to say the following:
"I love tea and coffee and croissants and pastries etc. more of a casual diner - heavy rich creamy butter sauces are too much for me - more of a bistro gal... art and museums of course - gardens, not a huge planner but want to catch the special unknown spots - any stores, outdoor markets, particular place for a soup and baguette and cheeses - we are in an apt. in Le Marais for 2 weeks."
This was all in response to some questions I asked to gage what kinds of things she desires.
I've sent along a few special places I love, but then I thought it would be fun to gather a list here as well and simply send it along to her. I'll be keeping the list for myself as well. I can never get enough of Paris. I've yet to stay in the Marais, so I'll be curious to hear what suggestions you have for that area.
I also know a few slow chicks here who have a trip coming up to Paris soon.
Shop: - Get a beautiful (and inexpensive) chapeau panama in the little shop on northwestern corner of place des Vosges (not sure it has a name). All men look good in panamas. Chicks look even better, esp Slow Chicks.
Casual eateries: - Le Marché, on the exquisite Marché Ste Catherine - Finkelsztajn delicatessen, on 27 rue des Rosiers - L'Enoteca, on rue Charles V. Italian wine bar w good food.
More shops: - all the antique shops and other shops in the delightful courtyards in "Village St Paul" across the rue Charles V from L'Enoteca.
Sights: - get out of the western side of Village St Paul and be surprised by a long stretch of the old Roman wall, now skirting a playground where Marais home boys now play ball - nearby 68 rue François Miron, the Hotel de Beauvais: Mozart's old home. Beg the guard to let you in to see the courtyard and its beautiful fountain. - Across the street at n°11 and 13, oldest house in Paris (but there is some controversy about this...). - A little further down, turn left on the little windy rue des Barres with its old houses and little square and cafés and shops, leading to the river.
The Marais is very much visited. Not many truly secret places. Try to avoid the "grands artères" like: - rue Riovli-rue St Antoine - rue François Bourgeois on Sundays. Check out all the side streets and make your own discovery of your own secret beautiful Marais...
I don't know if I'm a "Peep" but here are a few things I can suggest on the eastern edge of Marais, bordering some lesser-known districts:
On Saturdays, there's an arts and crafts fair of sorts on Blvd. Richard Lenoir, just north of Bastille. On Sundays and Thursdays, it's a lively market.
A few blocks south, somewhat in between Bastille and the Sully-Morland areas is the bistro La Canaille. Very informal, friendly neighborhood place for dinner. Good food, gentle prices, and cool artwork on the walls. They also have music and art evenings, so check out the website.
Right now they're setting up for a contemporary art market along the Arsenal Basin, just south of Bastille on Blvd. de la Bastille. It runs this week.
Want to walk a bit to a diferent area? In that neighborhood, you can continue walking down Rue de Lyon past the Bastille Opera, and the street turns into Avenue Daumesnil. There you will see the Viaduc des Arts with lots of interesting shops and studios, with the elevated Promenade Plantee gardens above. There's two streetside cafes I like there for good salads, drinks and peoplewatching. One is the Viaduc cafe at 43 Avenue Daumesnil, the other is Les Artisans, 14 Avenue Daumesnil. For a nice fish restaurant with excellent food and reasonable prices, try Le Fregate, 30, av Ledru Rollin (01 43 43 90 32).
A few other ideas, not necessarily in the Marais:
Take one of the behind-the-scenes workshop visits through Meeting the French. You can read about our wonderful visit to a Macaroon and chocolate "laboratory" here. Another great experience if your friend is interested in contemporary or historical tapestry is the Les Gobelins tour, which is described here. (scroll down)
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Amy,
i second visiting the st paul village and eats at l'Enoteca also the Marais is world famous so not so much is unknown, try to look at this site written by locals like me, in French it has more information .
Metro to Peletier. Walk to the corner [northeast] and right on rue du Faubourg Montmarte.
Turn right into Passage Verdeau, which leads into Passage Jouffroy. Cross the boulevard, and enter the Passage des Panoramas. Exit on the right, then make a left down rue Vivienne.
In the block the stop light, keep an eye open for the entrance to Galerie Vivienne. Exit on the south end [Galerie Colbert runs parallel to the right].
Directly across the street there is a short cut to the Palais Royale.
Posts: 129 | Location: menlo park CA usa | Registered: 30 October 2002
Your friend might want to try the Bar à Soupes, at 33 rue de Charonne in the 11th arrondissement. The decor is bare bones but the soups are delicious and you can buy takeout.
Kathy, I misunderstood your message to mean secret addresses in the Marais. If you mean the entire Paris, yes, then definitely the passages. The east-west passages seem to be even more secret. My favorite passage is not the series north of the Palais Royal (they are lovely, but I live neaby and walk there nearly everyday), but the Véro-Dodat east of Palais Royal.
Riff-raffy Les Halles has more than one beautiful passage. There is also Passage du Grand Cerf between rues St Denis and Tiquetonne. No friend would believe me that one could go into such a lovely passage from among a virtual road block of prostitutes "de bas étages". Between Concorde and Madeleine there is another series of less known passages, all between rues Royale and Boissy d'Anglas, with lots of rather good good eateries. One of my fave secret tea room-lunch place is the café Bernardau. Sorriest, I won't give the street number here. It is too much fun to try to find it. My other cluster of secret places is on the Butte, as usual, on all the sides streets (around rue des Abbesses rue Lepic)...
My other cluster of secret places is on the Butte, as usual, on all the sides streets (around rue des Abbesses rue Lepic)...
Ah, so we have that in common then. I bought an antique watch at a sweet little antique shop on one of those side streets years ago.
I'll have to look you up on my next trip to Paris. I'd rather like to try that tea shop/lunch place and your recommendations are right up my alley.
Dave, thanks for mentioning the soup place. I keep telling everyone that on my next trip to Paris, if I'm traveling solo, I have every intention of staying in your Paris Garret.
Another favourite spot for us is well off the beaten track Jardin Albert Kahn. It is not very big but it is a remarkable garden as it's theme celebrates diversity and peace. We will return for a visit in June as previously we have seen it in Spring time when it's flowering cherries, magnolias and crocus bulbs are a sight to behold. Wendy
Posts: 2749 | Location: Lightwater Surrey U K | Registered: 30 March 2003
When you visit Galerie Vivienne, don't forget to stop in for tea and tarts at A Priori The! It's delightful. There's also a very enticing Passage on the Left Bank - Passage Dauphine - and although I haven't tried it yet - L'Heure Gourmande is another Salon du The that looks very promising. (22 Passage Dauphine tel 01 46 34 00 40).
Hello ParisGirl, Thank you, I have been wracking my brains to remember the name of "PrioriThe"! Sunday brunch is extremely popular but you will need to book ahead. Wendy
Posts: 2749 | Location: Lightwater Surrey U K | Registered: 30 March 2003
I have had consistently bad experience at AprioriThé. Lunched there badly several times - food unremarkable, service excruciating (20 minute wait just for getting the menu). Maybe I chanced upon its off day every time...
I also saw an unpleasant scene there once: a passer-by - very well dressed, well-groomed lady - came in and used the rest room. When she came out, the waiter followed her and insisted that she pay 5 euros for the use of the restroom. She finally gave him one euro and he "released" her. I didn't find that a class act at all. The great location does not make up for such appalling service, appalling attitude.
Sounds more like we experienced it on a good day. Now I've looked it up it seems to be featured in some guide books so perhaps it's "higher profile" has made the management think they don't have to try so hard. We went one Jan 2nd a couple of years ago for Sunday brunch and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves although I guess the atmosphere was not that welcoming. Thank goodness for S T. Wendy
Posts: 2749 | Location: Lightwater Surrey U K | Registered: 30 March 2003
It was Wendy's link to your entry about the Alfred Kahn garden that led me to your www.parislogue.com site. I'm looking forward to exploring it in more detail.
Posts: 16055 | Location: The Beautiful San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 06 August 2001
In the Maris, I second Enoteca. You should also have a falafel at "l'as dufalafel". A tea at "Le loir dans le théière" is one of my favourite thing to do there too. As off the beaten path places to visit, I would recommend that you read those 2 posts, the first about "Bercy Village", a place loved by parisians, almost unknown by tourists, and also the Aligre Market and its surroundings : Aligre Market : http://afoodiefroggy.canalblog.com/archives/2007/02/21/4081006.html Bercy Village : http://afoodiefroggy.canalblog.com/archives/2007/02/04/3896413.html
Posts: 20 | Location: Paris, France | Registered: 12 March 2007
Parisgirl, I've bookmarked your site. It looks like something I'll enjoy. Welcome to Slow Travel!
I've emailed this thread to my friend and she is beyond happy (and terribly impressed) with all of the information she's been given. She said she can see why I love this community so much. Thank you for the great tips. Keep them coming! I'm hoping for an early fall trip to Paris myself.
Americana in parigi, charging for the loo? Tacky...
Originally posted by teachick: Americana in parigi, charging for the loo? Tacky...
Not just charging for the loo. Charging (or trying to) 5 euro for the loo! At least that lady got away; we customers had to be subject to "customer-abuse". Thailand has a "Tourist Police" to whom one can report such abuse. I wish Paris - and all cities worth their sel de guérande - had one.
But it is understood that you can't walk into a café or restaurant just to use the toilet, right? The toilets are for customers only. That applies whether you are well dressed or not.
I wouldn't want people unfamiliar with Paris ways to get the wrong idea.
Since I've never been to A Priori Thé, I have no opinion of that particular establishment.
Thanks Teachick and Kim for dropping in at Parislogue. Keep in mind the funny looking green plastic Toilette cubicles located on some streets (like Place Odeon for example) are FREE in Paris. You find them scattered around - most often when you don't need one. Otherwise there's a very nice lady called Fatima who minds the Luxembourg garden loo right near the bandstand and next to the cafe. 50 centimes. It helps her pay for the flowers that she uses to decorate the surroundings.
When I was last at La Priori The, it was run by an American woman. I think Thursday nights they're supposed to have some special event like poetry readings - from what I've just read on Americana in Parigi's post, it makes me wonder if she's still running the restaurant - if so, I'd think she could be very concerned. This may be a dumb question, but you mentioned you went there several times and were disappointed - usually once I get burnt I never go back - maybe one more time - usually about four or five years later hoping a place has changed management!
there's a very nice lady called Fatima who minds the Luxembourg garden loo right near the bandstand and next to the cafe. 50 centimes. It helps her pay for the flowers that she uses to decorate the surroundings
Been there! I like that woman. I also like that cafe as it's a nice place to relax and people watch. I also have no problem paying a wee bit to use a public loo.
Originally posted by Parisgirl: u went there several times and were disappointed - usually once I get burnt I never go back - maybe one more time - usually about four or five years later hoping a place has changed management!
It is not a silly question. You are right; I am not a fanatic devotee of Apriorthé that I'd go back all the time hoping it gets better. The last few times it was my out-of-town friends who wanted to go there. It is a great spot, an obvious spot. I do pass by it very often, as I don't live far away. I seem to have seen the American lady there, but can't swear to it. She is indeed very nice, always smiling. And the service was also consistently long, food indifferent. What to do? And like everyone else, I like your site.
The restroom use issue is very divisive among my French friends. Some swear that restaurants are obliged by law to let anyone use the restroom. I suspect that it is one of those laws - if such does exist - whose enforcement is iffy.
What I usually do is that would ask the waiter or cashier the permission to use the restroom and I'd offer to pay. I found that retaurateurs appreciate that one asks. Only one restaurant accepted that I pay. It was fair. we were a group. In fact we paid more than what the patronne asked for.
When I mentioned that the lady was well-groomed, I had meant that she was not the type of very unkempt people that one would be afraid of allowing the use of one's premises. I do not mean anything more by that. It was just that I found the 5 euro demand and the insistent hounding of the lady to be ... not something I wanted to see sipping tea there. It's so ungracious, don't you think?
I do think it was nervy of the waiter to demand five euros for a bathroom visit, but I also think it was nervy of the woman to visit the toilet if she wasn't a customer. It's just not something I would ever do, and I wouldn't advise others to do it either.
But I'm not beyond stopping at McDonald's when I'm driving out in the country in France just to run to the men's room. I suppose it's because there's less chance of getting caught at McDonald's, the places being so wide open and completely self-service.
It always was funny, before the days of public toilets in Paris, that you would have to go to a café and order a drink so that you could go to the toilet. After you had your drink, you just needed to go again of course. Talk about a vicious circle!
Originally posted by ckenb: But I'm not beyond stopping at McDonald's when I'm driving out in the country in France just to run to the men's room. I suppose it's because there's less chance of getting caught at McDonald's, the places being so wide open and completely self-service. It always was funny, before the days of public toilets in Paris, that you would have to go to a café and order a drink so that you could go to the toilet.
My other point is why "sneak"? We are adults! That's why I always go up and ask the café people if i could use their restroom, and judging from their positive answer, I guess they appreciate my not "sneaking".
While we are totally off subject, and many residents of Paris and France are on this thread, I might as well pop this question that has bothered me every since ... since I knew France.
What do you think of the habit of guys peeing on the side of the road in France? It drives me insane. (with furor, not with desire.) A friend - a "grand reporter" for a big French newspaper - considers it a form of human right, or at least guy's right!
I feel guilty of veering off topic, and lowering the "class" of this thread way down besides in my last posts. Back on topic with one more address: A drink at the Train Bleu. Who would guess that the Gare de Lyon would hide such an opulent place? Great place for a last drink - best way to say goodbye to Paris - right before you take the train to the Riviera, Geneva or Italy. Très Fitzgeraldien. For a good glimpse of the café wherever you are: - the movie "Nikita" (the original one, in French) and see Nikita's first kill; that was in the Train Bleu, down to the restroom where she was supposed to make her escape. - book "Not A Station But A Place" by the great MFK Fischer. Guess which station she was talking about.
It was reading MFK in the 60s when, through her, I discovered the Train Bleu. Years later after seeing La Femme Nikita, I sat in the sam seat where she shoots the Chineese man. Reading MFK, I also stay at the same moulin in Burgundy and relish the Bleu Truite.
Posts: 1278 | Location: cambridge,ma.usa | Registered: 27 January 2003
Originally posted by ckenb: I agree with asking for permission. The problem is when you don't speak French asking even a simple question like that is very intimidating.
All of this is kind of off the subject but I'm sure a lot of Slow Travelers would like to know where the best, cleanest public toilets are in Paris.
We have a travel note on restrooms in Paris. It includes some tips on etiquette, type of toilets and information on toilets in typical tourist spots.
Posts: 9599 | Location: Edmonds, WA | Registered: 25 October 2001
I feel guilty of veering off topic, and lowering the "class" of this thread way down besides in my last posts.
Yes, time to move on. I want to email more of this thread to a friend and I really don't think excessive loo speak is all that interesting. Check out the notes Marta has linked to and enjoy!
Do people have a favorite little store that they love to get lost in? A place to go in the rain and browse? Now, THAT would interest me...
Kathy - well, now that you ask: one of my favorite browsing spots is the venerable Dhillerin, a wonderful kitchen supply store. Everything from wire whips to chef's knives, copper pots to little porcelain labels used to identify of cheeses, to "no smoking" signs in French. The only thing that has prevented me from spending a fortune there in the past is lack of space in luggage -- which I think is a good thing.
Judy
Posts: 3930 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 22 March 2005
I love gardens and find a detour to one such as the UNESCO japanese garden or the gardens of the Palais Royal provide lovely escape. I also love the quiet of the Guimet museum, with its wonderful asian collection and its absence of tourists and lines.
Here is a link to the Japnese Garden of the UNESCO building. Looks like we've come round full circle now to the peaceful gardens of the Palais Royal! Wendy
Posts: 2749 | Location: Lightwater Surrey U K | Registered: 30 March 2003
I was looking through the old LA Times travels articles on France and came across an an article for shops for bargain hunting for gifts (registration may be required). The list has some interesting shops including the already mentioned Dehillerin.
Posts: 9599 | Location: Edmonds, WA | Registered: 25 October 2001
I liked the Satellite Paris jewelry store in the Marais - they also have other locations in Paris as well as one somewhere on Broadway in NYC. Neat beaded jewelry. The one I went to was on 23, rue des Francs Bourgeois.
There's also a nice home accessories store in the Marais called "De Bouche a Oreille" on 26, rue du Roi de Sicile. A lot of the stuff was too big to carry home, but I bought a few antique-looking hooks.
There's a little toy store off of Rue Moffetard in the 5th called "l'epee de bois" on 12 rue l'epee de bois. I bought 2 cute little music boxes (made in China!) but still cute!
Topic Closed
but here are a few things I can suggest on the eastern edge of Marais, bordering some lesser-known districts:
