by the way I stayed at a hotel in Indianapolis one time during a transvestite convention and boy was that fun...the Marais is my favorite Arr.have fun

oh Buzzy they won't hurt you or disregard anyone that's not of their sexual orientation. I've worked with them for years-and they are decent sweet people. They call non-gays "breeders". One time, while in Hershey PA, my innocent son & I (unbe-knowest to us), entered a gay bar.We thought if there's a lot of cars outside, it must be hopping. So we're at the bar and this guy on my right starts up a conversation with sweet-imuscular son of mine and once I realized what was going on, I just let the whole thing play out,cracked up the whole time, & kept the secret from the kid until the end. Point being, they are not wearing name tags or that easy to spot, yet, if a straight person happens in, they are very friendly and won't shrug, rather open-arms welcome. My suggestion, if your already in there, relax, smile and enjoy. It'll be of an adventure more than a threat.

Having been called plenty of names myself from early childhood through the present middle-aged day, I prefer not to call anybody anything, and I certainly would not use the derogatory term, "breeder."

I can't tell if the original post was a put-on or not but I'll play along. Buzzy, did you know the Marais is also the Jewish area?

Just lose some weight and upgrade your wardrobe and you'll fit right in. ;^)

Much ado about nothing! I stayed over two weeks in the Marais and there are plenty of straight bars and restaurants and straight wealthy people who can afford to live there. Lots of writers, people in fashion, and artists.
This is an area of alot of gays but you don't see them holding hands like in P-Town.

We're staying in the 3rd Arrondisement in January, and I personally sought out an apartment in the Marais. As a resident in LA, near West Hollywood, I'm well aware that the "gay" areas of town offer some of the best dining, shopping, upscale bars, lovely well-kept homes and apartments, etc around. And the crime rates in those areas are lower. As a younger female, I always feel safer in a "gay" neighborhood when walking alone at night, etc.

I think it's quite a positive thing! And gay people- male or female- tend to be among the most sensitive, funny, kind, cultured and fun people I know. I prefer their company over most, quite frankly.

when I lived in Paris, the area right behind Notre Dame was a major gay strolling/pick up area...

Just what the OP wants to know.

I don't know about others, but my husband and I love,love,love the marais. They is nothing wrong with the area benind Notre Dame. In fact I love Notre Dame lit up at night, and the street preformers just add to the ambiance.

The Marais does have some of the most appealing apartments I've seen among Fodors recommendations and on Paris apt sites. But there are many all around central Paris.

You won't have an issue at all with stumbling into a gay bar - the first thing you'll notice is not that they are all men, but that they all seem to be in their 20s and 30s! And if you happen into a cafe that's popular with gay clientele, it may appeal to you anyway, as well as to other straight couples.

If you like antique shops, boutiques, would like to be near to Place des Voges and The Pompidou, close to Notre Dame etc, the Marias would be great. And lots of married couples posting here report staying in Marais apts and loving it.

Thanks for all your replies. I don't have a problem with gay people it's just that I'd like to ensure that there are a lot of neutral places to eat and drink in that area rather than ones dominated by gay culture. Despite our liberal views today I think a lot of "straight" people still feel awkward around multiple displays of affection between gay people at close hand. I'm really relating to my husband here. I think most women do not have a problem at all but straight men do so I'm making allowances for that.

Buzzy, nothing at all amiss in your sentiment. I'm gay and I can tell you that most people I know would not select a hotel or apt surrounded by nothing other than gay bars and cafes - a gay ghetto, as we call it. Nor would I choose a neighborhood or town "unfriendly" to gay people (or unfriendly to any good folks!)

But this is less an issue than it seems. Like New York's Chelsea neighborhood, the Marais is a gay center - and also a center for art, good restaurants, interesting shops, attractive blocks of old houses. The Marais is probably less gay-centric than Chelsea, for that matter.

But for some people it's all a little too much "action", too much night life (continuing story in NYC is the growing number of night clubs and bars in specific neighborhoods, keeping the streets too noisy too late into the night and provided crowds long into the night.) So that might be an issue more stressful than the demographic of the neighborhood!

Please do not think that all gay people call all straight people "breeders" or that gay people are all "sweet". That kind of perpetuation of a stereotype serves no one well.

Now I've just read that there is a road somewhere around there nick named Bacteria alley due to the amount of people getting ill having eaten there. I'm beginning to think I've picked the wrong location but when I walked past it before I just loved all those colourful displays of seafood etc in the restaurant windows. It's a shame if people get ill from their visits there.

Who told you that bull?

Buzzy- Seriously, why not stay somewhere else. Up in the 7th maybe?

The gay potential seems a problem, now the food??? I would never go forward with plans that I had so many misgivings about in advance (although I don't believe either to be true myself).

The first post pinged the troll alarm, now it is clanging.
Buzzy dearest, just don't allow your husband to consume any gay seafood. Have you not yet heard from your obviously impeccable sources that this is a major mode by which gays recruit? Be especially cautious if your husband has a wide stance, in which case he should absolutely never wear white trainers while traveling.

And don't let him go near Notre Dame Cathedral at night.

There are all sorts of rumors about every place. "Rumore" in Italian is "noise," and that's what most rumors (and email alerts about spiders etc) amount to.