The literal translation is “the market of the Red Children” and according to one blog, it is named after the color of the uniforms of children at a nearby orphanage in the 1700’s. This is apparently the OLDEST covered market and Paris, and when “mikel,” a commenter here on marketmanila sent me an email suggesting I check this place out, I was very intrigued. Located in the Marais neighborhood, a few steps from the bakery La Fougasse of the previous post, this is a small but extremely charming neighborhood market. In addition to produce, meats and wine, there are cheesemongers, bread, flowers, etc. And there are also several wonderful little stalls that sell cooked food either to take away or for you to eat in nearby tables. Small at perhaps 1,500 square meters in area, it is nevertheless one of our new favorites in the city…
The entrance through two small gates on the Rue de Bretagne have the simple arches in the first photo up top. Nearby on the main road, there are several other food vendors that also offer a selection of goods. It is a very busy street, but unlike other popular areas in Paris, it isn’t crawling with tourists at the height of the travel season. Clearly this is a market that locals consider their own, and increasingly, after several newspapers, magazines and blogs have discovered it, I think they might resent the invasion of outsiders…
A little bit off the beaten path, the Marais is something you would explore after your first or second trip to Paris, unless you make an effort to get there the first time around. This market is close to the Picasso museum so there are other interesting things nearby and a short walk would also get you to the more famous and utterly beautiful Place des Vosges.
Stalls selling Italian delicatessen and grocery items (and later, at lunch a nice short menu of dishes), were next to someone with Japanese food, food from the African continent, including a vendor with Moroccan and other middle eastern dishes…
I have never seen so many varieties of chickens on display in one store!
Gorgeous tomatoes, albeit probably still from greenhouses at that time of the year…
…the famous purple tinged garlic of France.
Middle Eastern? desserts that looked like baklava at a stall that served up several types of tagines with couscous and various vegetable and lamb stews.
More sweets…
A selection of Italian cheeses…
…which might go very nicely with these freshly baked baguettes, which looked earthier and more rustic than the one we had just consumed from La Fougasse.
Strawberries on steroids…
And the surprise discovery of the day? A rhubarb juice… apparently an infusion of tart rhubarb, possibly with some added sugar or simple syrup, served very cold. This was really quite good!
14 Responses
oh my…those tomatoes and purple tinged garlic looks really good. i am harvesting tomatoes now from my backyard. i just wish i have seeds for those type of tomatoes!
How I wish we had even just 500sqm of this kind of market here in Cebu!!!
Wow… I think the small size of this market add to its charm, not to mention its selection of yummies.
I thought those purple-tinged garlic where red onions!!! curious…curious…curious… One learns something everyday!!! J’aime le marché!!! Ãœ
artisan, the chocolate recipe of betty q is on MM’s compilation of betty q’s recipe.. i think it’s with the shu mai.. maybe january this year.. marisse, i tried to look it up on nov 28 2008 and on betty q’s compilation recipe but it is not in there.. if it’s ok with u, can u pls send me the recipe thru my email??? if it is not too much to ask for.. tried to find it a couple of times but can’t seem to find it..
MM, can i ask for a small favor, can u give my email add to marisse? thanks so much!!!
nice travel tip. have been to the marais many times and love place des vosges. i will seek out this market next time. merci.
this is my kind of post, MM..from one marketfan to another
Thanks sanojmd!
Artisan…open a market like that in Cebu…am sure it’ll have a market…I love markets like these…..
Strawberries on steroids made me laugh!!How big were they MM? On a trip to Germany,I saw really BBIIGGG strawberries and almost palm sized. Just one could be an entire dessert for three…THose must have been on steroids too…ha ha ha…I once was on bedrest for almost a month a a half and on steroids…after that I was puffed up–ha ha ha..thought I’d never lose the excess weight so I laughed cuz it reminded me of myself when I was on bed rest and steroids…ha ha ha…
le marais off the beaten path? really? i feel like after the tour and the louvre, it is one of the most touristy (and most boutique-y) areas of paris. not to mention the city’s not so unofficial gay capital! sort of like saying chelsea, soho, or the w. village is off the beaten path in nyc… maybe i’m speaking from an american perspective, but definitely it’s nearly on day 1 on many a guidebook/nytimes itinerary. nevertheless, yes, adorable area, 2nd only to canal st. martin as my personal fave in paris. the non-haussman architecture of le marais really sets it apart, so much more quaint, romantic, and ironically quintessentially french. have whiled away many a weekend day there, and plan to as well this weekend!
** by tour i meant tour eiffel.
m, had no idea… maybe it’s on the radar screens of far more people than I realized… I only saw the NY times 36 hour itinerary after we did our trip (I linked it in the main post above)!
Leaning tower of strawberries! Ooops, wrong city. Beautiful post, MM!
you sure captured the flavor of this marche MM. despite being ‘discovered’ by tourists and bloggers(who came first?), it’s still very much a little secret for residents of the 3e & 4e and people who work in the increasingly chic rue charlot.
have done the round of eats here over the years and i suggest next visit, go for the moroccan vegetable & lamb tajine. masarap!