A Weekend in Le Marais, Paris
After spending a year living in Paris, in search of the un-touristy, the authentic experiences, and the best food… this weekend itinerary has already been sent far and wide through my community. The reason I put it together was after I had the experience of asking for recommendations and was sent several 5-6 page long documents by different people, listing restaurants they had visited alongside their honest opinions. The overwhelm you feel when faced with 2-3 days, and endless pages of lists is intense. How on earth is anybody who doesn’t know the city supposed to put together a plan, not knowing where anything is, how to get around, let alone what things complement each other to do in a day.
Paris is a city that it’s easy to get wrong. Being such an iconic capital, with so many infamous landmarks, means there are also countless tourist traps lining the street. Restaurants with overpriced and under seasoned food, experiences that promise authenticity but deliver a poor customer experience. If you don’t know “where to go”, it can be difficult to find the kind of places you dream of stumbling upon. That quiet, cobbled street lined with balconies that jut out into the blue sky, each one telling a story of the city. The smell of warm baguette and pastries flooding your senses as you turn the street corner. The old style Parisian restaurant serving steaming hot moules frites, with skinny fries doused in salt and a classic French pud. I’ve put together this list as a guide for how I personally would divide my short stay in France’s beautiful, rich capital. If you would like to know more, read this post here, or if you have time to venture out of the city, check my post on the best day trips from Paris.
DAY 1 IN THE MARAIS
Start the day with a coffee on Île Saint Louis, sit at Le Saint Regis, an iconic location believed to have been frequented by great French philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre. The antique interior and old school hospitality service transports you back in time to an older Paris. It’s the perfect place to take a book, a journal, or some cards and soak up the atmosphere surrounding you.
From here, take a wander and pass Notre Dame. Paris is full of centuries old notable churches and buildings, but there’s somehting about Notre Dame that feels particularly special. It’s beside La Seine, so enjoy some time walking along it’s wide banks alongside the local runners, cyclists and walkers.
Lunch at Café des Arts et Metiers. I lived next to this café during my time in Paris, and their sprawling heated terrace provides the perfect location for you to watch the city go by accompanied by your lunch.
Whether you’re an art fanatic or not, next up you can visit the Louvre. The building itself is spectacular, even if you don’t want to spend time inside. If you do pop in to see the Mona Lisa, I advise you also go to the area where all the home interior décor is, just ask someone who works there to direct you. I found this part of the museum more fascinating than many of the paintings it houses.
Then walk to one of my favourite Parisian gardens (of which there are many) called Jardin des Tuileries. There’s something about the fresh air and plants that feels calming in the midst of a fast-paced city.
A great spot to stop off in the afternoon is Rosa Bonheur sur Seine, a bar floating on the river Seine. It’s a lovely experience to enjoy a tipple at the river, see if you can find the bridge nearby that houses a bluetooth speaker in its walls, where you can connect your iPhone and have a laugh under the bridge.
I’ve included a longer list of restaurants at the bottom of this post, depending on what suits your appetite, but the Marais is full of excellent options to suit all tastes.
DAY 2 IN THE MARAIS
Hop on the metro and get off at Saint Paul station: this is beautiful shopping area so just wander the cobbled streets and soak it all up!
Lunch: make your way to a street called Rue des Rosiers. Follow the noise and the crowd - you will find a famous falafel restaurant called L’As du Falafel. I was a regular here and for good reason! It’s in the heart of Paris’ Jewish quartier, and this juicy wrap filled with hot crispy falafel, crunchy salad and cold thick yoghurt might be one of the most delicious (not to mention both cheap and filling) lunches you can find in the city. I’ve never seen this place without a huge queue lining the street of locals and tourists eager to get their order. If you have the patience to wait and walk to a park bench to enjoy it then you’re a stronger person than me, but I also find joy in the experience of eating it on the side of the street, fresh from the kitchen, surrounded by locals doing exactly the same.
After an afternoon wandering the idyllic streets around Saint Paul, I like to send people to La Cordonnerie. It’s known for being the cheapest pint in Paris, but the reason I love it is because its swarming with locals, enjoying an early evening aperitif. The culture surrounding this time of the day feels so different to the UK. It’s not about rushing to the pub for a pint after work, squeezed around a tiny table overflowing with beers, ordering your next drink before you have finished the first. It’s about celebrating and welcoming the evening, toasting a glass of wine to whet the palette for the evening meal ahead, sharing the excitement of commuinity and conversation through ritual and love. This cultural meaning we’ve ascribed to alcohol is something I found apparent and one of the reasons I fell in love with the city. At La Cordonnerie, you’ll have to speak loudly to project your voice above the hubbub of noise, news, local chat. The walls are a memoir of all of these, decorated with the scribbles of locals writing messages, memories and thoughts alongside polaroid images. I love it here and I hope you do too!
Head to Rue Montorgueil. When I first walked down this street, I remember truly understanding the phrase “heart-warming.” A wide, pedestrianised street lined on both sides with busy restaurants spilling wooden chairs onto the street, full of energy. As you walk down the middle, you truly feel as if you’re in Paris: a city of tradition and stereotypes, that lives up to both the latter whilst at the same time exuding class, style and taste. Le Compas is a restaurant with a heated terrace thats perfect for your pre-dinner aperitif, and also has a great menu. It’s one of the best people watching spots, and I enjoyed frequenting for that exact reason.
If you don’t eat at Le Compas, book a table at Aux Crus de Bourgogne for dinner. Just off of Rue Montorgueil, this classic French bistro is everything you need and more. The coq au vin, steak frites, pretty much everything on the menu is France’s finest dishes done to perfection.
If you take anything from this post, make it this. You absolutely MUST go to Rue Saint Sauveur for post dinner cocktails – the kind of place you daydream about visiting on your European city break that is always impossible to “stumble upon”… As I said before this list has made it’s way around a number of people in my community who have all fed back that this street was their favourite. A nondescript, tucked away street full of speakeasy style cocktail bars (AveK, Experimental Cocktail Club are my favourites). They often have happy hours so check out when they are.
“I really hope you enjoy this guide to The Marais in Paris, and would love to hear from you if you decide to visit any of the above places during your time there.”
Click here to see a more detailed list of Where to Eat in Paris!
Restaurants
(*click to open Google maps list)
