Paris - (Fall 2024) - Day 2
The First Full Day Around Paris
The metro in Paris is excellent but it is also a great walking city. When given the option, I always walk if I have the time as you can explore neighborhoods as you stroll to your destination and maybe you might discover something along the way.
The target neighborhood on the first day was the Marais area. It is the trendy place in town these days.
Marche des Enfants Rouges
In search of an early lunch, we headed to this popular market/food court in the Marais. We were fairly early so it wasn’t busy yet but place had the pleasant buzz of food being prepped for the coming day. All different counters available for snacking - seafood, burgers, bbq, etc.
Specialties Libanaise
We settled on the Lebanese stall in the market because I can’t get enough kefta. Also the owner was super friendly. I got the “combo” which included this delicious fruit smoothy.
Marais Home Coffee
We went and got a little pick me up after lunch. Decent location on a busy corner so good for seeing the world go by. No wifi for customers here which I guess is not uncommon so that people don’t park their laptop there all day.
(Side Note Regarding Coffee)
One nice thing was that we found that every hotel room had Nespresso machines and capsules so you could have a coffee in your room before heading out. It’s not like we were staying in fancy places so it seems standard here.
Another nice thing was that buying generic capsules in France were 1/2 the price compared to the US for some reason.
Place des Vosges
Our next destination was Victor Hugo’s house. This beautiful square sits in front of the entrance.
(Side Note Regarding French City Parks)
They are gated so they can lock them up at night - so you won’t find homeless people sleeping in them at night.
Maison Victor Hugo
The house is free to enter but you do go through security. It is located in one of the very nice buildings that surround the Place des Vosges.
It is basically a set of rooms with art and period piece displays. The last room is the bedroom where he died.
Musée Carnavalet
This was another free museum and it was actually fairly impressive. The museum theme is the history of Paris and they have displays that go through the different eras. My favorite displays were regarding prehistoric Paris through the Roman times.
Le Carrefour Cafe
We actually stopped at this place because the other destinations that we were heading to were not open yet. This place had a good location for people watching and was very pleasant (except for the random face tattoo guy who walked by when we sat down and yelled at me in French for a good minute before walking away).
(Side Note on Cafe Culture)
This is why I love France. You can get a drink or coffee and you can pretty much sit there all day. You have to go out of your way to flag a waiter down to pay as they don’t bother you (and since you don’t tip it’s not like they make more money if you are turning tables faster). The French revel in just hanging out.
Little Red Door
This was the destination bar of the day. The bar is cozy and has a speakeasy type feel at the entrance. Well regarded as a high end cocktail bar. Excellent drinks. Probably more tourists than locals at the time that we were there. I believe you sometimes need reservations but we got there as it opened so it wasn’t a problem getting a seat at the small bartop. Bartenders gave us other recommendations in the Marais that we would explore later.
Baguette Le Relaise Entrecote
I was craving some steak frites and this place serves it in a baguette. It is a sister restaurant of Le Relais de l'Entrecôte which has several locations in Paris where they serve the proper steak frites. We tried to go to one later in the trip and the line was way too long.
The sandwich is much more accessible and of course cheaper. You can order different sizes in which they basically stuff more meat into the baguette with the fries.
Brklyn
This was a fun little bar in the Marais alleyways. I think the owner is American as he spoke like one. It calls itself an “American bar in the center of Paris.” Good cocktail menu in a low key casual place. Very nice place to chill out in.
(So I just googled and it says this place is “Permanently Closed'“ so oh well - I guess don’t go looking for this place.
Walk back to Montparnasse
We decided to walk back to the hotel. Very enjoyable to stroll through Paris at night and you get to up the step count on the iPhone.
The Saint Placide
It was a long walk back to the hotel and honestly, you sometimes need a bathroom break in between and the easiest way to find one is to have a drink somewhere - and this was the place. It wound up being a very comfortable place to hang out in. The night was chilly so we got an inside seat. With the USD so strong against the Euro - getting a glass of wine was very cheap in France.