Where Paris - 01 December 2017

T

he Marais neighbourhood, which stretches out over the 3rd and

4th arrondissements, offers a journey into not only Paris in the

present but also Paris of the past. It was once a vast marshland

but by the 13th century monks and the Templars had begun to

cultivate it and nobles and notables had their private mansions built there

in the 17th and 18th centuries, many of which are standing still today

housing museums or institutions. The Marais is lined with cultural venues,

galleries, a host of eateries and unique bars, sublime shops, both trendy

and traditional, and its very own department store.

The BHV Marais, the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville, dear to Parisians and

which opened as a small counter shop back in 1856 is today one of the

emblematic department stores in the capital. Just across the street from the

City Hall (Hôtel de Ville), the complex of shops occupies the blocks between

the streets of Archives, Rivoli, Temple and La Verrerie and bursts with brands

for one and all with offerings ranging from luxury items to light bulbs.

This year the warm and inviting world of Christmas in Denmark is

being showcased at the BHV Marais for the entire month for a God Jul,

Merry Christmas in Danish. Wonderful, animated window decors tell

the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen with The Wild Swans, The

Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Fir Tree, Thumbelina and The Snow Queen

all on hand for the celebrations. Meanwhile, a host of celebrated

Scandinavian and Danish brands will be on offer including Bang

& Olufsen, Hummel, Georg Jensen and Pandora. Unique creations

from Lego are on the agenda as well with a store window created

exclusively in Legos while a giant creation representing Andersen’s

Flying Chest is on display in the rotunda. You can also savour a

limited edition Carlsberg Danish beer exclusively at the BHV Marais

in honour of the beer brand’s 170th anniversary or sip Bodum coffee

in the Bodum Café that has been set up for the occasion along with

smorgasbord sandwiches and Danish Christmas desserts. A host of

workshops are also on the agenda with, for example, cookie and

gingerbread-making for children on December 7th and 13th in

the store’s Chez Marlette café-boutique, where you can also enjoy

breakfast or lunch, and for the whole family through to December 27th

enjoy readings from the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen every

Wednesday. And on the top floor of the BHV with a splendid view of

Paris, Le Perchoir Marais is offering a Danish atmosphere and serving

up local Danish dishes like smoked herring with black bread.

Beyond the BHV, the Marais, too, is home to a host of highly original

venues. French knowhow and classic design embodying trendy original

details are the hallmarks of the house of Louis Quatorze. The luxury house

brings out fine leather goods in calfskin blending the modern with the

traditional to offer a quintessential French touch. It all began back in 1980

in the royal town of Versailles when Paul Baratte, a leather craftsman,

founded the house paying tribute to the Sun King, Louis XIV, who built the

chateau of Versailles and is regarded as the father of French luxury.

A recent addition on the landscape is the Officine Universelle Buly, a

succession of a collection of aesthetic olfactory and gustatory experiences.

The spot resembles an old-fashioned apothecary outfitted with glass

panelled oak cabinetry and decorated with rare marbles, mirrors and

glazed terracotta tiles. In addition to carrying a fine selection of perfumes

and beauty care products in its Comptoir (counter), the house also offers

in its Café Tortoni a delicious array of coffees, hot chocolates and sweets

that invite and delight. There is also a small Nani Koré stand for sampling a

Japanese taste treat, onigiri, triangles of rice with a square seaweed seal that

is available in a host of savours to enjoy on the spot or to take away. You can

also pick up an original bouquet of dried flowers fashioned stem by stem

by floral designer Miyoko and have a look at the flower drying room.

Fine food is also on the agenda right in the Marais where for over 40

years the family-owned house of Kaviari has been selecting the finest

sturgeon eggs from all over the world to prepare its caviars available

in its historic spot in the Marais where you can learn about caviar and

participate in special tastings. The house has opened up its manufacture

venue, once the site of its workshops, offering the public an initiation

into a secret world through educational presentations and projections,

tastings on Tuesdays and Thursdays and by appointment workshops

in which the participant learns about caviar followed by a caviar based

breakfast, lunch or cocktail party among friends. Private lunches and

dinners can be organised and there is a boutique on the premises.

Tastings revolving around the house’s recipes and seafood are organised

throughout the month of December.

Discovering Paris

The apartment of Victor Hugo at La Maison de Victor Hugo Photo © Pierre Antoine; The Cafe Marlette in the BHV Marais; The Comptoir (counter) at Officine Universelle Buly Photo © Alexandre Guirkinger; Caviar at Kaviari Photo © Nicolas Izarm

The BHV Marais by night; Bodum Coffee Maker at the BHV Marais

By Patricia Valicenti

Meanderings

in the Marais

The BHV Marais by night (above) and a Bodum coffee maker available at the BHV Marais

20 WHERE PARIS I DECEMBER 2017