Words and photos by Susie Sandford Smith

Collage of images from the Enfants Rouge market

On a weekend away in Paris earlier this year my sister and I stumbled upon an utterly gorgeous little covered food market where I fell in love (I think girl crush is the correct term) with the most charming stallholder I've ever met. The market, the Marché des Enfants Rouges (the name comes from the red clothing that was worn by the children who lived in the orphanage that used to be on the same site), is in the Marais.

The Marais is an incredibly rich and diverse area of Paris, as well as being very 'fashion', the Marais is home to large Jewish, Chinese, and gay communities. It's an area that I always visit; everything about it is beautiful and interesting from its architecture and sense of history to its tiny boutiques lining the small streets of its centre.

Wrapping their way around the outside of the market are several stalls/bistros selling food from around the globe with, as above, the emphasis on quality (often organic) ingredients and 'homemade' dishes. Several of the stalls have small outdoors covered areas with tables and chairs, giving the impression that they're all tiny little restaurants.

Caroline and I drank no fewer than THREE!! espressos, (I think she actually had four or more) which were always accompanied by a little sweet bite, as we walked round the market, stopping at almost every corner to have a slurp of the dark stuff.

A cup of espresso at one of the bistro stalls

We didn't buy any of the produce as we were planning on eating out all weekend but, just look at it! Such beautiful colours, and everything looks so fresh and appetising. The food isn't particularly cheap here but it's damn fine food and, the market is certainly frequented by the French as well as tourists.

These eggs were huge - well, maybe they're the normal size for goose eggs but I'd never seen a goose egg before. They’re very 'touchable' looking, aren’t they? But, the stallholder was a bit scary so I thought better of it.

And this bread stall....the setting for my instant girl crush, everything about it was just divine - honestly, just look at all that beautiful roughly crusted bread. Yum. The staff on this stall were so helpful and one, in particular, was just delightful. It's honestly not an exaggeration to say that when it was my turn to be served I felt as though a little ray of sunshine was being sent over to me from her, I left the stall feeling as though I was glowing! Heh..strange. Oh yes, and the bread tasted pretty good too!

Le Marché des Enfants Rouges - 39 Rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris

From the Archives: Exploring the Marché des Enfants Rouges, Paris