In the Marais: favourite Paris spaces

Red brick and stone, slate roofs, a square of perfect symmetry ... 

... it's Place des Vosges, home at various times to Cardinal Richelieu and Victor Hugo who had something like this view from no. 6 while he sat scribbling away at Les Misérables. Napoleon liked it so much he left it well alone while razing most of Paris …

... and so did these little Parisian poppets who came to splash in the fountain last week

(not much older, these girls already have French style down pat)

Much of the rest of the Marais is a glimpse of Paris pre-Haussmann – all narrow, curving cobbled lanes in contrast to wide boulevards and grand squares - and full of quirky, colourful shops and enticing places to eat.

(a little apartment here would be a dream) ...

It's Paris' Jewish quarter, and here in the Rue des Rosiers there are reminders everywhere of a painful history as well as a current thriving Jewish community ...

At night it heaves with life until the early hours ... 

Looking for a late dinner we found the Rue Vieille du Temple buzzing in overdrive with social networking of all kinds. We had un verre at La Belle Hortense below, at the suggestion of a waiter at Les Philosophes, just a little along from the equally jam-packed Au Petit Fer a Cheval (above) who promised to run across the road and let us know as soon as a table was freed up. He was as good as his word.

Lunch the next day was at an long-time favourite Marais restaurant, Le Grizzli, around the corner from the Beaubourg (for more of my ravings on this place see here) ...

A night at the tiny gem that is the Hotel Bourg Tibourg was a new experience and a treat this trip - all low-lighting, rich colours and exotic scents on a minute scale ...

                                  
But lest you believe Mr Cole Porter ... here's evidence that this summer in Paris is far from a sizzle ... 

... nor even a drizzle. This torrential downpour was worthy of the tropics.

For some it meant finding the nearest doorway to squeeze into, but a rabbi caught in the rain opted for a fallafel break, sensible man ...