Streetlife - Paris e-guide: The Travel Guide with its Own Website - page 149

Centre

17 B1

Le Marais falafal, fashion and fun
Historically the city's Jewish ghetto and an area where
market gardens were once cultivated, Le Marais (the
marsh) is today one of Paris's mostvibrant quartiers .
Thronged by day and by night, it's a cosmopolitan mix;
one where gay bars, kosher restaurants, boutiques,
museums and antiques shops comfortably co-exist in
beautiful buildings that have stood here for centuries.
The Marais is especially busy on Sunday afternoons,
when most shops along rue des Francs Bourgeois
defy the law by opening their doors. Among the most
popular boutiques are Abou d'Abi Bazar (see p68) ,
source of affordable bobo (bohemian bourgeois)
clothing; the unfailingly fashionable Camper for
shoes; Autour du Monde , stocking stylish yet casual
clothes; and the hip home accessories store La
Chaise Longue (see p68) . Heading north, on the way
to the Musée National Picasso (see p96) is rue
Elzévir, recently colonized by stylish African restau-
rants and shops selling clothing and arty imported
objects for the home. Further north, the up-and-
coming rue Charlot is home to galleries and trendy

restaurants, such as R'Aliment (see p28) .
The real heart of the Marais, though, is the ancient,
narrow rue des Rosiers, where falafal shops such as
L'As du Fallafal (see p29) vie to out-crunch each
other, and chic designer boutiques lure in wealthy
trendspotters. Around the corner, rue Vieille du
Temple has a high concentration of cool cafés and
restaurants, including Les Petits Marseillais , Au Petit
Fer à Cheval and Les Etages (see p28) . This particular
stretch is also a hub for the gay scene.
Down towards Bastille, the perfectly symmetrical
17th-century place desVosges was once home to
Victor Hugo and is now the playground of beautifully
attired French toddlers, aswellasunusuallytalented
buskers. Locals gather here on weekends to picnic,
watch the little ones frolic and generally take in the
scene. Just to the south, the busy rue St-Antoine is
where the locals do their food shopping in the
traditional shops and supermarkets, while rue St-Paul
hosts a notable collection of antiques shops and one
of the city's best bakeries, Boulangerie Malineau ,
which sells an exceptional baguette.