The Picasso Museum, my favorite in all Paris, is here. The Hotel Salé, in which it is housed, would be worth a visit even if it were not bursting with the prolific output of arguably the greatest artist of the 20th century. In addition to paintings, there are enough whimsical sculptures and funny pieces of pottery to make your kids enjoy looking, too. Don't pass up the bookstore's treasury of post card reproductions. (A complete restoration and building addition will close the museum for a year starting in 2008.)

If your kids are small and were not blown away by Picasso, perhaps you owe them a visit to the Museum of Hunting and Nature (Le Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature). The amazing collection of enormous stuffed animals might turn out to be the high point of your child's Paris trip. A bonus for you is the magnificent Mansart (of roof fame)-designed 17th-century mansion in which these creatures are housed. (This museum is also undergoing a major overhaul and will reopen in June 2006.)

Another kid's treat is the Magic Neighborhoods - The Marais 2 in marais2.htmlMuseum (Musée de la Curiosité et de la Magie), a whimsical collection of automatons, prestidigitation devices, and mechanical wonders. There is a short magic show included in the admission price. A bit further away is the doll museum (Le Musée de la Poupée): a hundred-years' worth (1860-1960) of little people to delight kids of any age. Don't miss lunch at Le Hangar, in the same narrow passage.

The Maison Européene de la Photogaphie is an 18th-century townhouse beautifully modernized. Worthwhile temporary exhibits are mounted and, from time to time, parts of its vast permanent collection are displayed. For fans of the art of photography, this one is essential.

On a smaller scale, the beautiful 17th-century Hôtel Libéral Bruand has been restored and was reopened in June 2005 as a contemporary gallery showing mostly living French artists. It's free and worth a look, even if you're not a collector.

After endless wandering, the best afternoon refreshment in Paris awaits you at the understated, handsomely appointed tearooms of Mariage Frères (one of six Paris locations). A selection of 500 teas—even more teas than France has cheeses!—are offered for purchase by a sales staff clothed in gorgeous natural linen suits. An elegant high tea is just the ticket to get over the comatose-tourist state that kicks in about 4PM.

Another choice for a pick-me-up is La Tartine, the oldest wine bar in Paris, packed at all hours with drinkers of good wine and eaters of tasty open sandwiches (tartines). For more intellectual drinking, there's the pretty La Belle Hortense, where both books and wine provide stimulation.

Buy your fresh foods at the Thursday and Sunday Richard-Lenoir roving market (one of Paris's best), or on the busy rue St-Antoine, where you will also find supermarkets and a wealth of carryout food shops. Parisians, too tired to cook, are lined up at the takeout counters at day's end. Many of them also line up to buy their bread at Au Levain de Marais, one of Paris's best-rated bakeries.

Dining out in the Marais is difficult only because the good choices are too many. The famous Bofinger and its less costly baby across the way, Le Bistro de Bofinger, offer good seafood. L'Ambassade d'Auverne and Chez Jenny dish up hearty regional dishes in turn-of-the-century surroundings. Au Bascou has excellent Basque food. Just a short walk away, Chef Alain Ducasse recently reopened Benoit, the postcard-perfect bistro that now also serves delicious food. Le Café de la Poste offers a good-value plat du jour. Jo Goldenberg sooths you with chicken soup. What more could a soul want? One visit to The Marais is simply not enough!

ADDRESSES

Synagogue 10, rue Pavée

Mémorial de la Shoah 17, rue Goeffroy-l'Asniers

Chez Marianne 2, rue des Hospitalières-St-Gervais

L'As du Falafel 34, rue des Rosiers

Finkelsztajn 27, rue des Rosiers

Izrael 30, rue François-Miron

Village St-Paul between rue St-Paul and rue Charlemagne

Barbara Bui 43, rue des Francs-Bourgeois

Marithé + Francois Girbaud 20, rue Mahler

Stock Griffes 17, rue Vielle-du-Temple

Petit Pan 39, rue Francois Miron

Boutique Paris-Musées 29 bis, rue des Francs-Bourgeois

CSAO 1-3, rue Elzévir

Sentou 29, rue Francois Miron; 18, 24, rue du Pont Louis-Phillippe

Muji 47, rue des Francs-Bourgeois

Nadine Delépine 5, rue des Rosiers

Princess Diana Memorial Garden 21, clos des Blancs-Manteaux

Musée Carnavalet 23, rue de Sévigné

Musée Cognacq-Jay 8, rue Elzévir

Musée Picasso 5, rue de Thorigny

Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature 60, rue des Archives

Musée de la Curiosité et de la Magie 11, rue St-Paul

Musée de la Poupée impasse Berthaud at rue Beaubourg

Le Hangar 12, impasse Berthaud

Maison Européene de la Photogaphie 5-7, rue de Fourcy

Hôtel Libéral Bruand Gallery 1, rue de la Perle

Mariage Frères 30-32, rue du Bourg-Tibourg

La Tartine 24, rue de Rivoli

La Belle Hortense 31, rue Vielle du Temple

Richard-Lenoir market boulevard Richard-Lenoir (starting at rue Amelot)

Au Levain de Marais 32, rue de Turenne

Bofinger 5-7, rue de la Bastille

Bistro de Bofinger 6, rue de la Bastille

Ambassade d'Auverne 22, rue du Grenier St-Lazare

Chez Jenny 39, boulevard du Temple

Au Bascou 38, rue Réaumur

Benoit 20, rue Saint-Martin

Le Café de la Poste 13, rue Castex

Jo Goldenberg 7, rue des Rosiers