Frankly

LE MARAIS - THE SWAMP THAT BECAME THE HIPPEST NEIGHBOURHOOD IN PARIS #4

2008-04-14T13:21:00Z

Previosly Frankly has given you an historical introduction to our favorite Parisian neighbourhood, Le Marais (in the 3rd and 4th arr.) as well as tips on how to enjoy 24 hours or a weekend of luxury in Le Marais. This time we tip you on what we would do if we were so lucky to spend more than a weekend in Paris.

Paris for the locals

If you count on spending more than four days in Paris, you should contact parismarais.com, which has a wide selection of apartments for rent in Le Marais. Everything from one room for two in ”antique” French style to medieval or modernly furnished ”Duplex Art Deco” for five people.

French every-day-kitchen

Renting your own apartment gives you a chance to buy groceries at Le Marché des Enfants Rouges on rue de Bretagne just like the locals – or in the favorite delicatessen of the Parisians at Le Bon Marché on rue de Sévres (7. arr.).

And you will soon discover that the best cafés are not located in rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, but just around the corner. La Chaise au Plafond on rue du Trésor is one of them. Some good restaurants for classical French cuisine are Colimaçon and the slightly more expensive Nicolas Flamel.

A sweaty flirt

Gym Louvre on rue du Louvre (1. arr.) has a tricky strategy to make the gay community sweat in their gym: the cutest guys in Paris get a free membership. And the flirt gets very intense on the lower floor where there is a steam bath, a sauna and individual cabins. It gets even more straightforward in the combined training center and sauna IDM on rue du Faubourg-Montmartre (9 arr.).

If you prefer exercising – and flirting – in the open air, pull on your rollerblades and go to the large roads along the Seine where traffic is closed off on Sundays. You can even play volleyball here in the summer, when sand is spread out and two thousand palm trees are set up to create an artificial beach and beach volley lanes in between the historical buildings.

Author Walther Griesé

Le Marais - the swamp that became the hippest neighbourhood in Paris #2

Le Marais - the swamp that became the hippest neighbourhood in Paris #3

LE MARAIS - THE SWAMP THAT BECAME THE HIPPEST NEIGHBOURHOOD IN PARIS #3

2008-04-07T14:30:00Z

Previously, Frankly has given you a historical introduction to Le Marais as well as tips on how to enjoy 24 hours of luxury in our favorite neighbourhood in Paris. This time we guide you through a packed weekend in Le Marais.

A Packed Weekend

Hôtel Duo

Newly renovated Duo is a stylish boutique hotel in the very heart of Le Marais' gay area. Just a stone’s throw away from the main artery, rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie. You will get a good view of the street life and a cheap lunch in the sidewalk café, Open Café. For power shopping, try out rue des Francs Bourgeois and rue Vieille du Temple. This will give you a chance to discover the French brands like Loftdesignby and Paul & Joe, as well as exploring the truly charming places like rue de Poitou, where you’ll find the trendy shop Jacenko and the fetish expert Rex.

Enjoy the fact that Le Marais has tourist area status, allowing most shops to stay open on Sundays.

Once you get lost in the small streets, check out the Picasso Museum, which will offer you a peek into one of the most beautiful ”hôtels particuliers” in the area and a reminder of Picasso’s importance in 19th century art.

Shower on the bar counter

A good place to start a fun night out is the club, Les Bains Douches. They serve a good three-course meal while warming up for some of the best DJ’s in Paris and a throbbing dance floor. Les Bains Douches have a gay clientele on Fridays and Saturdays, but the rest of the week they host theme nights. So you should check out their schedule if you want to avoid a ”Bal du Jeudi” (Thursday ball-room dance) with kitschy French pop music.

Raidd Bar

If you’re more into the bar scene, Raidd Bar has the best-looking bartenders in the city. They take turns going under the shower, which is strategically placed next to the bar, and drop their clothes. The basement below Raidd Bar is very dark, so you have to feel your way around.

By Walther Griesé

Le Marais - the swamp that became the hippest neighbourhood in Paris #2

Le Marais - the swamp that became the hippest neighbourhood in Paris #4

LE MARAIS - THE SWAMP THAT BECAME THE HIPPEST NEIGHBOURHOOD IN PARIS #2

2008-04-04T14:05:00Z

Last month Frankly gave you an historical introduction to Le Marais. This time we tip you on how to enjoy 24 hours of luxury in Paris' hippest neighbourhood.

24 hours of luxury

The facade of one of Paris’ oldest buildings, Marais House, does stay discrete. The host has been searching all over France for antiques and curios, in order to recreate the perfect atmosphere of a medieval castle – and he is picky when it comes to his guests.

There is no sign on the door, and you will not be informed of the address until you have booked your room. You can also rent all five rooms and use the Marais House as your private Parisian residence.

Le Train Bleu

The atmosphere continues in the restaurant, Le Train Bleu, where waiters with starched white collars serve exquisite French Cuisine under the under the arched ceilings with intricate cuttings. The restaurant is situated at the heart of the Gare de Lyon on Place Louis Armand about 800m. from Le Marais.

One stop shopping

Pierre Talamon

In designer Pierre Talamon’s new boutique, located in rue du Temple, you can get affordable tailor-made French fashion. If you prefer a large selection, you’ll find department store BHV (Bazaar Hotel de Ville) around the corner. They have gathered the best of all French men’s fashion designers on the fourth floor. True fashionistas will probably insist on going to the flagship stores of stylish Agnès B and flamboyant Jean-Paul Gaultier on rue du Jour (arr. 1) and rue Vivienne (2. arr).

Pamper yourself

Having lunch at Georges on top of the Pompidou Centre you’ll get spoiled with designer furniture, an innovative chef, a staff that looks like they were hired from a modeling agency and a fabulous view over Paris’ roof tops.

Continue on to Musée Carnavalet, which will provide you with a view into the history of Paris and the many historical buildings in Le Marais. In the afternoon, drop by Nickel where you can get their own brand of crèmes and lotions specially made for men and all kinds of beauty treatments in their clinic. You can even ask the masseur, Stéphane Prémeil, to show up in your hotel room with his massage bed – and your body will soon be floating on air.

By Walther Grisé

Le Marais - the swamp that became the hippest neighbourhood in Paris #3

Le Marais - the swamp that became the hippest neighbourhood in Paris #4

LE MARAIS - THE SWAMP THAT BECAME THE HIPPEST NEIGHBOURHOOD IN PARIS #1

2008-03-18T13:28:00Z

Photo by Blisspix

Gays like to brag about the fact than when an area falls into decay, the best that can happen is that the gay community moves in, takes over and do what they’re good at: Renovating, opening up small boutiques and spreading the magic and charm so that everything becomes beautiful. And voilà, the area will attract everybody.

From a swamp to a larder

In the case of Le Marais this is very true. But the story goes back more than a thousand years, when the area was one big swamp which was drained and named the city’s larder, since a great part of the vegetables were grown here.

From the 17th Century and a few centuries ahead, the fields were confiscated and used for housing by the French nobility and the upper bourgeoisie who built the elegant ”hôtels particuliers” (large private houses) that are still predominant.

Discrete gay life

The financial ups and downs of Paris caused the decay of the buildings and the entire area, and in 1962, minister of culture, André Malraux, had to intervene and force through legislation in order to save some of the historical buildings from being torn down to make place for a new highway. This brought the area into focus and during the 80’s the first gay bars opened up in Le Marais. The bars were very discrete with dark window panes and closed doors, since homosexuality was regarded as a disease and was punishable by French law until 1981.

During the 90’s the area became known as ”le gai village”, and today the gay and the straight community live happily together.

France on the front edge

he evolution in Le Marais was a precursor of the evolution in the rest of France. In 2000, the country established the PACS, a sort of civilian marriage for both heteros and homos. And in 2001 the Parisians elected an openly homosexuel mayor, Bertrand Delanoë. This was long before the extremely liberal Berlin got it’s homosexual mayor, and without the press making any particular fuzz about it.

France is known as a very conservative country with a strong political right wing and big problems with the integration of immigrants. But in the homosexual department, the evolution has been very positive in the latter years, and the annual Gay Pride in June attracts 800.000 people out into the streets. There is no longer any reason to be discrete.

By Walther Griesé

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