Restaurants. Vendors (selling fruits and vegetables, cheeses, fish, flowers…). And a photography shop. All of this adjoining Comme un roman , one of the most beautiful bookstores in Paris, on rue de Bretagne. In short, nourishment for both body and soul. In other words: a perfect summary of the Marais.
This is how the Marché des enfants Rouges presents itself , unique in its kind in the capital because it is the only one to offer such a varied and high-quality range of food.
©Le Marais Mood
And to think what is the oldest covered market in Paris almost turned into a parking lot... It was the time when Jacques Chirac was at Paris town hall. After its closure in 1994, the municipality intended to carry out a lucrative real estate operation to park cars on several floors! A second “assassination of Paris” (*) in short, after that, in 1971, of the Baltard pavilions at Les Halles, under the Pompidou presidency.
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Fortunately, after a campaign led by director Bernard Tavernier and reasonable Marais residents, it reopened in November 2000, almost four hundred years after its creation. Built in 1615 at the request of Louis XIII, the market was then used to supply the Marais and the aristocratic Place Royale, today's Place des Vosges.
250 years ago, this wooden market hall, equipped with a well and a stable, was called the “red children’s market”. A reference to the orphanage that the sister of François I had opened, not far from there, in 1534, and whose residents were dressed in red.
Entrance to the Marché des Enfants-Rouges, in 1907, Houbron
Interior of the Marché des Enfants-Rouges, in 1907, Houbron
The market is today a must-see in the Marais, just like the Picasso museum or the Place des Vosges. A “must see” for tourists who enjoy meeting local residents who come to stock up on cheeses, fruits and vegetables, meats, fish and flowers in a harmonious melting pot.
When it comes to food, you're spoiled for choice: French cuisine or something else entirely, the selection is vast. At Taeko , the delicious bento boxes transport you to Tokyo. Right next door, the Afro-Caribbean restaurant Corossol offers excellent accras, bokits, and chicken yassa. At Burger Fermier , even Americans admit that this side of the Atlantic knows what they're doing! Just across the street, you'll find Alain Miam-Miam and his legendary, enormous sandwiches.
©Le Marais Mood
Further along, the Moroccan caterer – a family business run by people from Agadir – is a hit with younger diners: at ten euros for a chicken tagine and 13 for a royal couscous, you can eat cheaply, well, and healthily. And at Bio Wagner , along one of the two entrances on the right, everything is organic. There's also a well-regarded Italian restaurant , a Lebanese one , and a handful of other French options.
©Le Marais Mood
At Aux Enfants du Marché , Mika, who arrived six years ago, has established a reputation for his gourmet counter where you can eat for 30 or 60 euros, or more, depending on the wines (organic or natural). This Parisian, born in the Les Halles district, sums up his ambition thus: "To perpetuate the market tradition as it once existed in the Les Halles of Paris [before their relocation to Rungis]."
Right next door and in the same price range, The Butcher of Paris – which is celebrating its second anniversary – revives the tradition of the "merry butchers of La Villette" so dear to Boris Vian. Here, you can buy your meat and take it home or eat it on the premises.
©Le Marais Mood
Here we prepare and cook the meat on site. And customers eat on blocks which serve as tables. The barbaque comes directly from French producers, just like the wines, chosen by the boss. In short, it smells good of the land. At a table, Matt, an American regular who lives in Paris and works in finance cannot believe so much French genius: “France is wonderful. The Enfants Rouges market is exceptional. I regularly cross the Seine from the 7th arrondissement to come here. It's awesome ! »
Less brilliant, however, are the toilets on the market, far from impeccable. Neither the town hall nor the market traders consider it useful to raise them to the level of the commercial offer which is otherwise without fault, or almost. Odd…
(*) The expression comes from the French historian Louis Chevalier (1911-2001), author of The Assassination of Paris (Editions Ivrea) who compares the disappearance of the market halls to a homicide in the capital.
▼ The Red Children's Market
39 rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris
Tuesday to Saturday from 8 p.m. to 20 p.m.
Sunday from 8:30 p.m. to 17 p.m.
©Le Marais Mood
Text: Axel G
07.05.24
