landry9

We are considering an apartment rental at Rue des Vertus from rentalfrance.com for a last minute trip next week. Can anyone give their impression of the immediate neighborhood for cafes, shopping and nightlife. Also safety and convenience. Thanks for any help.

landry9

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landry9

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NYCFoodSnob

Sweetheart, you're starting your research a tad late. There is an abundance of info on this site answering the very questions you ask. Simply type "Marais" into the search box and 'poof' your wasted ttt time is vanished.

landry9

Doing a search for "Marais" gives me about 100,000 posts with the word Marais in it. I was hoping to hear from someone who had a favorite Cafe, pastry shop or resturant in the immediate area.

Nikki

I rented an apartment quite near that street with my husband and daughter two years ago. We were on rue Chapon. The neighborhood is quite safe. I didn't walk on the rue des Vertus specifically, though. Here is an excerpt from my 2003 trip report:

Our apartment was located on rue Chapon in the third arrondissement, just north of the Marais, near the Arts et Metiers metro. This is an interesting neighborhood in transition. The streets are lined with Chinese importers and wholesalers of leather goods, scarves and hats. The spaces above the shops are being renovated and turned from offices into apartments. Our glimpses through the windows showed very interesting and attractive apartments, and across the street from us the building had a roof garden. The ground floor of that same building housed a café-theatre which looked and sounded appealing but which we were told would be hard to enjoy if we didn’t understand French slang and current events. I do feel a little regret that we didn’t give it a try anyway.

The rental agent, who is also a part owner of the apartment, told us that the city is in the process of relocating the wholesalers to a more outlying district and that many of the shops are being converted to other uses, especially art galleries. One side effect of the wholesalers’ presence is a small collection of Chinese restaurants and takeout shops, and we were happy to bring dim sum home along with our baguettes, cheese and charcuterie.

There were three nearby metro lines, so the city was very accessible, and it was a short walk to the Pompidou Center, a little bit farther to the main tourist part of the Marais. I did feel a little regretful, however, that there was not more street life close to the apartment, as there is in the Latin Quarter and St. Germain, where I have stayed previously.

Restaurants:

We enjoyed several meals in the neighborhood, at L’Ambassade d’Auvergne, Au Bascou, and especially at Le Pamphlet, which in addition to having delicious and creative food was an astounding bargain. We thought we were getting a three course dinner from the 27 euro prix fixe menu, but they brought out three additional courses (a sausage starter, cauliflower soup, and a plate of small desserts including a fruit dipped in chocolate which I thought was a cherry until I tried it, couldn’t identify it and asked about it, learning that it was a fruit found only in Colombia and which had happened to be available that day at the market).

landry9

Thank you Nikki. Your info is very helpful.

Kate2

Yes, dear, you will get 100,000 threads regarding the Marais, In those threads are the impressions of prvious posters on neighborhoods, shopping and restaurants.
That is what the search function is for. You do a search first, then you ask a question. That way, you may get more answers to specific questions.
Just recently there have been a spat of apartment in Paris questions.
Try putting "apartment in Paris" into the search box.
Hope this helps.