The Pavillon de l’Arsenal – a great place to understand historical and contemporary architecture and urban planning of Paris – recently changed its permanent collection, making it even more attractive than before.

The central space is now occupied by a huge interactive animation which allows the visitors (one by one) to show an aerial view of a place in Paris or its region. All around, short notices (with explanations in French and English), illustrations, maps and models explain how Paris’s territory evolved since the Middle Ages and what major urban planning decisions were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries to shape contemporary city. A section is also dedicated to the current projects in Paris and its suburbs.

The only thing I regret is that the very comfortable cushions on the floor were substituted by strangely shaped triangular chairs, quite comfortable too, but a little bit too serious to my taste…

The first and second floors are still dedicated to temporary exhibitions, generally more technical than the permanent one on the floor ground, still about architecture and urban planning. And a documentaion centre is accessible from Tuesday to Friday (14:00 – 18:15, 14:00 – 17:15 on Fridays).

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Pavillon de l’Arsenal | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
21 Boulevard Morland | Marais/Bastille | +33142763397
Tue – Sat 10:30 – 18:30, Sun 11:00 – 19:00

The Marais is generally known for falafel snacks, gay bars and trendy stores, but it also has a great architectural heritage: many aristocrats lived there in the 17th Century, before the Court moved to Versailles. During the French Revolution, aristocrats were beheaded or exiled, their residencies were turned public and now many of these host museums, libraries, or archives, (when not hosting the new Parisian aristocracy…).

One such palace is “Hôtel Carnavalet” (funny name coming from a mispronunciation of the Briton name de Kernevenoy, the first owners of the palace), which now hosts a museum dedicated to the history of Paris.

In this museum, you won’t find big names or famous masterpieces, but many paintings showing how Paris was throughout the different ages of its history, which is very interesting if you have already gone all over modern city’s streets and squares.

The collections (paintings, but also pieces of furniture) are also of great interest for history enthusiasts, and displays the most important events of French history (many of which occurred in Paris), notably the Revolutions (from 1789 to the Commune, passing by 1830 and 1848).

Like other museums run by the municipality, the visit to the collections is free, though you might be charged for some temporary exhibitions. And even if you’re not a museum addict, the place is worth a visit for its gorgeous courtyard, freely accessible from the entrance of the museum.

Current exhibition (until 29th July): Eugène Atget (1857-1927), a great photograph of 100-year-old Paris.

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Musée Carnavalet | Art & culture | Free
23 rue de Sévigné | Marais/Bastille | +33144595858
Tue – Sun 10:00 – 18:00

With its two screens showing only “Latin” films (ie films from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Latin America, and more rarely Romania), and its dance-floor upstairs hosting Latin dances classes, Le Latina cinema has become over the years an inevitable place for Latin cultures’ enthusiasts wishing to watch an Almodovar film downstairs while hearing the noise of High Heels on the floor above…

In 2009, Le Latina was slightly renamed in Le Nouveau Latina (The New Latina), and it slightly changed too, even if it keeps its strong Latin identity. Most of the films are still from Latin countries, but the programming is broader now, and also includes international auteur cinema (with a preference for films about homosexuality: we’re in the deep heart of the Marais).

The first floor has been renovated and is now Le Salon Rouge, a very cozy tea salon (open from 14:00 – 21:00) which also hosts a small store selling DVDs, film posters and books about cinema. If you add photography / drawing exhibitions and tango classes on Monday evenings (beginner / intermediate / free practice), it makes Le Nouveau Latina the perfect multidisciplinary space for modern “Latin lovers”…

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Le Nouveau Latina | Art & culture, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Snacks
20 rue du Temple | Marais/Bastille | +33142466271
11:30 – 00:00 daily

Sancho is a restaurant I discovered when we went to the Point Virgule Café Theâtre (check the Point Virgule article), because I wanted to go and have dinner with my wife after the show. And, when I want to try a new restaurant, I always go to www.lafourchette.com and research a restaurant which offers big discounts (this one, -40%) so we can try better places for less money. So I decided to choose Sancho, which was very close to the theater.

If you want to go there, you can obviously walk from the Cityhall, one of my favorite buildings in the city from the architects Theodore Ballu and Etienne Delperthes, inspired by the Italian artist from the Renaissance Boccador. Take the Rue du Temple, get lost in the incredibly well preserved from the Baron Haussmann destruction lanes, and finally arrive at Rue François Miron for dinner at Sancho.

This restaurant opened 1 year ago, but let’s first talk about the wine we ordered : for € 18.50 a bottle, you can have a wine produced by a winegrower we met this summer during our holidays in Amboise, and that wine means quality (we brought 18 bottles back from this man).

For food, we ordered excellent shrimp tempura and unknown soft shell crabs, perfect salmon with amazing spinach puree (I have to cook that !) and a real fresh fruit salad: honestly, it was really good, and we enjoyed it a lot. 

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Sancho | Restaurants (Gastronomic japanese) | Full meal € 30
7, rue François Miron | Marais/Bastille | +33144611350
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 15:00 1& 19:00 – 22:30

There is a walk I like the most in Paris, it is the one from Bastille, the site of the former prison took by the people of Paris in 1789, to the City Hall (Hotel de Ville of Paris) by passing through the quarter of Le Marais. This quarter is called the marsh because it was a real swamp at the beginning of the IXth century before being used as pasture in the XIIth century.

So, from Bastille, you can easily walk on the Beaumarchais Boulevard, and then turn left on the Rue du Pas de la Mule and arrive at the Place des Vosges, the most beautiful place in Paris. Passing by the art galleries, you reach on your left the Rue de Turenne, where you will find lots of clothes shops, with prices you never imagine in Paris. Indeed, there are lots of manufacturers in this district of Paris.

At number 41 in the same street, there is the Bernard Garbo Shop, that you have to know if you are looking for suits at € 150 or very trendy shirts at € 95 for 3. The prices are quite low because they are manufactured and they sell the same merchandise to other shops.

On sale, you can take € 50 off on every suits or jackets (but not on shirts or ties). Go there if you want to mix a wonderful promenade with fashionable shopping all around (see also Rue des Francs Bourgeois just nearby!

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Bernard Garbo | Relaxing, Shopping
41, rue de Turenne | Marais/Bastille | +33142720967
10:00 – 19:00 daily

From Place de La Bastille, named after the Bastille Prison which was taken by the people of Paris on July, the 14th 1789, you can follow Rue Saint Antoine and Rue de Birague, which leads to the most beautiful place in Paris, Place des Vosges, known in the whole world and not just because of the House of Victor Hugo or the 3 michelin star restaurant L’Ambroisie or the magnificent hotel “Le Pavilion de la Reine”, but also because of the renowned art galleries

This spot, called Place Royale before 1800, was renamed in honor of Les Vosges County, which was the first to pay taxes after the Revolution, and is the “sister” of the Place Ducale in Charleville-Mézières.

Between the numbers 21 and 24 lie at least six art galleries, which constitue an open-air museum, dedicated to the contemporary art. They organise lots of exhibition all year long as the others galleries near the Place. 

At number 21, and 24, you’ll find the two art symbol galleries, run by the same family, and which organizes varnishing around their artists like Chinikov, Micha Tauber, or photographer Lirone (you can see their work on the web).

At number 28, you can enter the Vivendi Gallery, where you currently can admire some Andy Warhol reproductions, and also some paintings from Arnaud or Lee Kui Dae.

To complete the panel, I can also cite Galerie 26, and Galerie Modus which presents also very contemporary works. Feel free to enter !

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Galleries of Place des Vosges | Art & culture
24, Place des Vosges | Marais/Bastille
Mon – Sun 12:00 – 20:00

As normal parents whose children are on vacation at their Grandparents’, we are rushing to the theater or cinema, as soon as we are alone in Paris.

So last august, as we had family on visit, we went out to see a show at the point virgule, a very tiny theater of 110 seats located in the gay district of Paris, just nearby the City Hall.

In you want to spend a funny evening while enjoying new performers, that’s a place to go.

In this theater, you can see future comic stars of the french scene, like Walter we saw taht night for his first show, and who is now on Europe 1, a famous french radio.

You have between 4 and 5 artists by night and the shows lasts around 1 hour. You can of course check the program on their website.

By the way, after the spectacle, do not hesitate to go and eat at Sancho (check out the article.)

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Le Point Virgule | Theaters | Show € 20
7, rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie | Marais/Bastille | +33142786703
From 17:30 or 19:00 daily (see website)

These 2 cafés one across the other are one of the most popular local coffee shop around Bastille.

They have an interesting mixture of artefacts and pictures, as well as tranquil ambiance during the day makes it a place you feel good at.

Sometimes too boboish and a bit pretentious, nevertheless it has a charm.

When I came to Paris, at the beginning I was surprised that if you are by chance hungry at 16:00. it’s difficult to find a restaurant with kitchen opened. With time I saw that Parisians really respect the eating time table, so do the restaurants. With Le cafe de l’Industrie, it’s not the case. The kitchen is open all day around and the food is really good. The menu is bistro-range, with mainly French dishes.

In the right Industrie, a cat who is a household institution, will convince you, you have chosen well.

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Le Café de l’Industrie | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Brunch € 20.00
16/17 rue Saint Sabin | Marais/Bastille | +33147001353
09:30 – 02:00 daily

I discovered this place not long ago, and immediately, even from the outside, I knew it would become dear to me.

It has a specific open atmosphere and goodwill vibrations that are all visible. People are relaxed, friendly, the staff totally unpretentious and new guests feel welcome, it even has some intimate, we know-each other mood.

Les Marcheurs de Planète-Resto Zinc is officially a wine bar and offers about 50 sorts of wine. The excellent food is home cooked and freshly prepared. The food is mostly terroir food, meaning the food has special characteristics from the land of a certain geographic region. In this case cheese and sausages and with wine it is very important, depending on the region’s grapes.

The food is served till midnight and the bar is open till 02:00. I won’t say more than if you like hot chocolate, you should try it – and don’t eat anything before.

And that is not all, it has small cute details like chess tables, old piano…books, travel souvenirs, cask, old armchairs. Often they host small exhibitions, in type very similar to Art brut cafe (check the Art Brut cafe article).

Fair trade ideas that are moral bases of this bar and it’s great ambiance make Resto Zinc just the perfect place.

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Resto Zinc | Bars | Brunch € 15.50
73, rue de la Roquette | Marais/Bastille | +33143489098
Tue – Sun 17:30 – 02:00 (kitchen 19:30 – 00:00)

Mk2 Beaubourg is a moderately big cinema (6 different sized rooms) in the centre of town that offers a big selection of films every day.

MK2 chain was created by Marin Karmitz who tried to make a strong chain of independent films. At MK2 you can watch the best independent movies, often those selected at the festivals specialising in that genre. Not rarely are they classics to be. Opened to mainly European films, there are world productions as well. Documentaries and animated films are not equally represented, but are also often included in the program.

Films begin at around 11:00. and the tickets are cheaper before 15:00.

The slogan of MK2 as a different idea about the cinema, tells the principle of it’s creator wanting to give non commercial films more public space. Though there are plenty of other MK2 cinemas in Paris (like Cinema on the boat at Quai de Seine and Quai de Loire or visually, maybe, more atractive MK2 Bibliothèque) the Beaubourg has the specific small-cinema charm and by its position at the town centre is ideal place to enjoy and support the different approach to cinema.

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MK2 | Cinemas | Normal price € 8.50
50, rue Rambuteau | Marais/Bastille | +33892698484
11:00 – 01:00 daily