Travel Paris Locals might lament the loss of character that comes with brand name stores, but an advantage is that it is one of the few districts where stores will be mostly open on Sundays. Many cute shops, mostly catering to men, are all situated here. The fetish vibe is still very much alive with leather and rubber store Mister B, fetish shop RoB, and the clearly named Rex Fetish. If leather and latex aren’t your thing, there are plenty of shops for quirky shirts, ties, shoes, and accessories. For a one-stop shop, try the BHV Homme for some easy Paris fashion, but don’t be surprised by some familiar international brands. Lunch and (of course) Dessert If window shopping has worn you out, head north to the rue de Bretagne, another trendy street full of cute shops, mostly food-related. For lunch, join the crowds at the Marché des Enfants Rouges for an alfresco lunch in one of the city’s old covered markets that has been rehabilitated in the 1990s. Numerous stalls sell various ethnic food from Japanese to Caribbean, while the more traditional L’Estaminet des Enfants Rouges has a reasonably priced and usually delicious daily menu (closed Mondays). After lunch, you can either move to one of the cafés on rue de Bretagne to relax with an afternoon jolt of caffeine or head just a bit further north to Jacques Genin for some of the Right Bank’s best chocolate. If your sweet tooth still isn’t satiated, the new shop by pastry chef Philippe Urraca, Profiterole Chérie, serves up the freshest, made-to-order profiteroles imaginable. With cream and ice-cream filled varieties, Uracca’s shop is a welcomed addition to the neighborhood. Try the classic versions or go crazy with the lemon tart or salted butter caramel versions. By this point you might need to walk a bit. Head back down into the Marais via rue Vieille du Temple towards the old Jewish center of the Marais. Turn left on rue des Rosiers to explore the old “Pletzl,” home to the Ashkenazi Jewish population during the first half of the 1900s, before World War II.
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Connextions Magazine
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Shine Up & Out
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Summer 2015