We have accomodation in le Marais for March, near to the St Paul metro. We have elementary-aged children so are more interested in the %26quot;day-life%26quot; than the %26quot;night-life%26quot;. I am hoping someone can give me some details or ideas about what we can hope to find/do in the vicinity, besides Notre Dame? Would it be reasonable to expect that one may just pop out and be somewhere interesting (cafe, shop, park etc)?
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Hmmm, I don%26#39;t think I can really answer your question. What I can say though is that I can%26#39;t see very many advantages nor disadvantages regarding Le Marais and young childern.
I guess that it doesn%26#39;t have a huge park where you could let them run around all day but there is the %26quot;Place des Vosges%26quot; where at least you can lie on the grass during the summer.
The actual Marais area isn%26#39;t all that big and you are really in the heart of old Paris. With its cafes and stores, many open on a Sunday, you can be sure of being in the heart of things the moment you step out of your hotel.
It hosts Paris%26#39;s gay community and has the best Jewish restaurants in town !
I like it because it%26#39;s cosy. Small streets, very little traffic, nice cafes and more like ethnic France rather than classic France. But Paris is so small that in 10 minutes on foot you can find yourself by the Seine crossing over to Notre Dame or in Les Halles shopping for gifts or in Bastilles taking pictures :)
I can%26#39;t find very many sites in English but this one :
www.parisbestlodge.com/mysteriousmarais.html
has a map of the sites and this other one :
http://marais.evous.com/marais/patrimoine.htm
a list (French) of places to visit in the area.
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In a word.......YES....
If you are near St.Pauls you are in a wonderful lively area. Neat small stores, lotsa restaurants, cafes, bistros, of every type, markets, book stores...everything....people along the avenues.........Much English spoken. More large ancient mansions in this area than perhaps anywhere in Paris, a million art galleries, many museums (many free) and wonderful interesting sections. You will love place des Voeges.........and the crowded and interesting area around it (opened Sundays). And there are still the narrow rues here and there.........
You are not far from many of the Paris sites either. If you like to walk its not far to Notre Dame area....buses and metros are abundant to anywhere you would want to go, pretty much....easy bus to the Latin quatier.
Do try either of the %26quot;Boffinger%26quot; restaurants, right off Bastille...great French places, both of them....unless you find your own favorites in the zillion other restaurants in the area. There is an interesting and fairly large street market right off Bastille on Wed and Sundays till one.
You made a great choice.....a great area for everyone.
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And what Bea said :)
I reread my post and it doesn%26#39;t seem all that happy really but Les Marais is my favourite part of town. If you were thinking of living here then it%26#39;d be the ideal place, being close to almost everything yet small and cosy enough to bring up a family.
I walk there every weekend and find it very easy to forget the worries of work/life/money. It%26#39;s the real Paris that I wish more tourists would find and at the same time hope that it doesn%26#39;t change for them.
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There will be something interesting for everyone in the family at just about every turn...Place des Vosges alone has tons of charm, art galleries, Victor Hugo%26#39;s home and a park with climbing structures for the kiddies. The falafel places in the Marais are a kid%26#39;s delight... mine want to go every weekend for the shwarma and fries platter. And you are a short stroll from Berthillon ice cream on the Ile St Louis.
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Thank you so much! That parisbestlodge webpage is just fantastic. Made the whole place seem so poetic and beautiful - that piece should really be in every brochure! Thank you all for your tips and encouragement (loooove falafel, so that is an extra good thing to look forward to). I%26#39;m really looking forward to exploring - if you happen to think of any additional local shops or cafes or anything suitable for or friendly to children, please let me know...
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Hi there--
I%26#39;m staying in Le Marais (3rd arrondissement) in April. Here is a great website I came across. Enjoy!
http://www.parismarais.com/
KelBel
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