Le Marais on a Sunday

The neighborhood Haussmann couldn't touch. Medieval and Renaissance buildings survived the 1860s demolitions. Narrow streets between the Seine and Republique holding the densest concentration of beauty per block in a city with no shortage. Place des Vosges — Paris's oldest planned square, 1612 — is the anchor.

L'As du Fallafel on Rue des Rosiers: the city's most famous falafel, Sunday queue serving as its own review (most Paris shops close Sundays but the Marais's Jewish quarter stays open). Merci on Boulevard Beaumarchais: concept store-cafe in a converted fabric factory. Walk Rue des Francs-Bourgeois on Sunday afternoon — boutiques and galleries open, tourists manageable, medieval architecture catching light.