As I mentioned in my last post, we are staying in the 4th arrondissement in a neighborhood called Le Marais. Here’s an excerpt from our guidebook:
<<Jack Kerouac translated “rue des Francs-Bourgeois,” the Marais’ main east-west axis along with rue Rivoli and rue St-Antoine, as “street of the outspoken middle classes,” though the original owners of the mansions lining its length would not have taken kindly to such a slight on their blue-bloodedness. It was not until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that the Marais became a fashionable aristocratic district. After the Revolution it was abandoned to the masses who, up until some fifty years ago, were living ten to a room on unserviced, squalid streets. Since then, gentrification has proceeded apace and the middle classes are finally ensconced – mostly media, arty or gay, and definitely outspoken. The renovated mansions, their grandeur concealed by the narrow streets, have become museums, libraries, offices and chic apartments, flanked by trendy fashion outlets, interior design shops and art galleries. Though cornered by Haussmann’s boulevards, the Marais itself was spared the baron’s heavy touch and has been left pretty much unspoilt. This is Paris at its most seductive – old, secluded, as lively by night as it is by day, and with as many alluring shops, bars and places to eat as you could wish for.>>
So, imagine that you are me back in June, and you’re doing research on Paris and trying to figure out where to stay. Then you read that delectable tidbit in the guidebook. I was all, “Um, Chad, I don’t think I need to do any more research. Le Marais sounds awesome!” And, as it turns out, it is indeed awesome!
In addition to being centrally located and within walking distance of so many interesting parts of the city, I have never seen so many restaurants, cafes, bakeries, cheese shops, wine stores, fruit and vegetable stores, butcher shops, and other food vendors in such close proximity. And don’t even get me started on the number of shoe stores within shouting distance of our apartment. In fact, Chad and I have barely left our neighborhood this week because we have been busy exploring everything that is close by. Here are some images from Le Marais:
view of Rue St-Antoine – our street
This is a library in our neighborhood – a library that looks like a chateau! How cool is that!
Ok. Here’s a building with ivy growing up the whole facade. I took this photo for a friend who is a landscape architect.
So this is a big church in our neighborhood called St-Paul. There is a metro stop right in front called, surprisingly, St-Paul.
Interior of St-Paul church. Notice chairs instead of pews/benches.
Okay. And then here is a wacky piece of architecture below. I couldn’t figure out what type of business was in this building. I could just tell that it was a new piece of architecture.
And then there is this canal:
Did you know that Paris has canals? Why, yes, Paris has canals.
Having an afternoon drink at a cafe…
The produce market across the street!
The fruit display at the produce market – mixed berries on the right, figs on the left, and something called kaki in the middle that looks like persimmons.
Seriously, why would you ever live anywhere else except here. It’s awesome.