My wife and I will be spending 9 days in Paris. Our daughter and her husband will be there for 2 of those days so I'm in the process of planning 2 full days of sightseeing and delving a little into French culture. My question may seem simple, but because of time I would appreciate your input.
After experiencing Rue Rosiers (on the way to Pompidou) is it better to walk along rue des Francs Bourgeois or is it better to experience rue de la Bretonnerie.
Thank you.
It really doesn't matter. Rue Bretonnerie is the so-called gay neighborhood, and has some interesting shops. Rue des Francs Bourgeois also has some interesting shops. Without knowing where you are headed, you could walk along both. Walk along the former to Rue Vieille Temple, turn left, then right on Rue des Francs Bourgeois.
I think you might mean "rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie".
There are a lot of upscale shops and some small cafes on rue des Francs-Bourgeois, if that's your thing. There are some cafes, a couple of discreet sex shops and some design shops on rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie.
Personally, I'd turn right on rue Vieille du Temple, then left on rue des Blancs-Manteaux and follow straight on to rue Simon le Franc, which takes you to the Pompidou.
So sorry. In my first response, I interpreted your question as when you were leaving the Pompideou. Personally, I like Rue des Francs Bourgeois which becomes Rue Rambuteau. I stayed in this area a few years ago and like the energy. After you finish at the museum (be sure to go up to the top for the view), walk across the plaza to Amorino for some Gelato and great people watching. There are usually street entertainers in the area, as well as down by the Stravinski Fountain.
I'm in Paris now and very much like all of the Marais but I especially like the area Chexbres mentioned... rue Vieille du Temple and rue des Blancs Manteaux. There is a wonderful café I recommend on the corner of those two streets... Bar du Marché.
Though rue Rambuteau has been re-configured to allow traffic to pass more smoothly, the sidewalks are narrow and frankly, filthy - especially towards the end, around rue des Archives, heading to the Pompidou.
There are one or two decent patisseries on rue Rambuteau, but the rest is nothing to crow about. Since this is a "merchant street", the vendors will usually close up shop from around 1 PM to 4:30 or a little later in the day.
