Le Marais has been on my list of geographical locales to wander around (or as the French would say, be a flâneur in) for some time… Learning about its existence as the gaybourhood from a film called ‘Paris, Je T’aime’, I first journeyed there in 2008. I hung around in a lesbian bar, where I learned that Parisian queer women also choose to be accountants at a higher than usual rate, like their Sydney counterparts. (I imagine it has to do with financial stability, when other parts of your life offer upheaval.)
Since then, I’d heard that the district (also known as the 4th arrondissement) had gentrified. The internet told me that, while prices had gone up, there hasn’t been a new gaybourhood to definitively emerge, so if I wanted a dose of queer (and Jewish) culture, it was the place to be.
I loved my 2025 trip there more than my 2008 one: I visited in the mornings, when the refracted light rectangles from windows catching the sunshine lay on the tall, pale facades. I felt like I was a cat chasing a light beam, as I strolled the touristy but elegant backstreets.
The passing Parisians were few in the morning, making for some nice sensory experiences. When I say ‘touristy’ I am thinking about English language signs which were the only language of communication. I entered a small, glamorous café called ‘City of Light’ which seemed particularly beautiful in sleek whites and velvety port pinks. Under-lit and overpriced, I enjoyed a café latte there, while asking the barista about the salads of the area and not meeting with an actionable recommendation.
Along the way, over three days, I found a Swedish Institute, an educational institution dedicated to environmental sustainability, a small restaurant for Tunisian street food, plaques commemorating Jewish residents who had called Le Marais home until they were tragically abducted and killed by the Nazis, a micro-park dedicated to a gay man, the Carnavalet Museum (a pleasure to photograph from outside, and also brimming with beauty on the inside), a highly regarded crêpe restaurant where I had a salad with sliced gallette rolls on my first visit and a gallette with foie gras on my last…
By the third day I’d invited my Dad to enjoy the neighbourhood with me, and enjoy he did. We found our way to the Place des Vosges, a small, square park with four fountains (one near every corner), and a giant statue of a former king on a horse. Even though it was popular with locals and tourists alike, we managed to acquire a shaded bench to sit on and people-watch from. We had a box of cherries with us, Dad’s favourite fruit, and they were lovely.
I left the park before I’d had my fill of it, due to the sudden influx of American tourists generating uncomfortable levels of noise behind us, but we had time to drop by a few of the many upmarket art galleries surrounding it.
An honourable mention goes to a little courtyard lined with small businesses that I stumbled upon. There was nobody to be seen there, but a sign informed me that it was a little space to be enjoyed in times of greater activity. Additionally, a small, concrete square was lined with restaurants and looked charmingly stylish. A peek inside the most popular one turned up rustic decor with eclectic lamps in all sorts of colours.
Close to the church of St Paul (where the metro gets its name from), I loved to see a store which I had seen in other parts of France, Pylones. I acquired a few things from there, including gifts. There was a patisserie called Miss Manon where I savoured a chocolate eclair on my first day, and an artisan chocolate shop were I tried a sample of something crunchy.
All in all, Le Marais offered pleasurable moments aplenty!
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