A true Parisian atmosphere ought to be easy to find in Paris. Nevertheless, you’ll easily end up in one of the many bars and brasseries that offer the cliché of a waiter with a moustache and Edith Piaf on the speakers. But don’t fall into these tacky traps. Spend a little extra time to find a place that has the right atmosphere. Like Le Petit Marcel: Flowered tiles and mirrors on the walls, small tables squeezed in together, wooden benches - everything you instinctively associate with Paris. But in a modern, authentic version where young people hang out and the local business men check out the sports results in l’Equipe. You’ll pay 2 Euros for a cup of coffee and 3,80 Euros for a Kronenbourg beer.
It’s one of the several places that I have discovered and where I go for a break. Because I don’t want to go to the wrong place when I need a quick cup of coffee. Here, I can sit and watch life in rue Rambuteau. And if ’m hungry, I’ll order their onion soup.
Le Petit Marcel, 65, rue Rambuteau, 4. arr. Metro : Rambuteau
By Louise Sandager, extract from her her travel guide PARIS mon amour!, published by Gyldendal.
