Rue des Martyrs -My Exploration to Delight the Tastebuds

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I must admit when I planned my exploration of Paris’ rue des Martyrs, I made the conscious decision to skip breakfast and lunch…. and maybe even dinner.

My decadent pleasure here on rue des Martyrs would be to sample and taste at will. What I found did not disappoint but it did leave me longing for just a salad at dinner!

Arriving at Metro Pigalle, I headed to rue des Martyrs. By beginning my walk at the “top” end of rue des Martyrs, I was walking downhill towards the Seine as opposed to uphill if I walked in the direction of Montmartre. What a perfect way to spend an afternoon (or morning ). If time remains, you can  visit the Musée de la Vie Romantique.

Please note that I have not listed at every shop along the route. I’ve mentioned some of my favorites just to entice you into a visit.

First Stop, Librairie Vendredi

I would be remiss in my explorations if I had not peaked inside this bookstore. According to their Facebook page, “La librairie Vendredi a été fondée en 1919″, the store was founded in 1919, but alas, it is not open on a Monday nor during the mornings in general. I will just have to return another day.

Cité Malesherbes

This private street in the 9th arrondissement is “guarded” by a large iron gate. There is a historic building on the street with polychrome on the facade. My hope was that the gate would be open and shortly after I snapped this shot, a resident let me in through the pedestrian gate – what luck!

Beneath the far left and right panel you can see the architect’s name Anatole Jal. He built the building for Pierre-Jules Jollivett in 1856. These enameled scenes reflect those that were initially created for the church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.

Soon after installation of the panels on the church, they were deemed “scandalous by Christian morality: characters too little dressed, postures too sensual, colors too bright” and removed. Thus Jollivett used them to inspire the enamel work on his own house. (ParisZigZag)

In Search of my Favorite Cheese On rue des Martyrs

My favorite cheese is a very young soft goat cheese that is shaped like a fig. That would be because it is filled with a fig confiture that makes the whole packet melt in your mouth. It’s the perfect combination of flavors. Unfortunately, today was not the day I would find it at Fromagerie Beillevaire, nor any of the other fromageries. Perhaps it is a seasonal delicacy?

Maison Arnaud Delmontel

Ahhhh! My first patisserie. What do I choose for a gouter ? Ooops! I was so enamoured over the selection I forgot about asking to take photo! However the pain aux amandes was delicious.

Amorino

How early is it acceptable to eat ice cream! Amorino has stores all over Paris and the gelato you find here is beyond comparison. It is rich and creamy and always presented in an artistic manner. An adventurer at heart, I try a new flavor each visit! This one is pistachio and chocolate gelato with a raspberry macaron. Heavenly!

Fou de Patisserie Boutique

Ice cream, cakes, patisseries, yogurt, drinks, what’s not to love! The variety here is outstanding. Their website says that the boutique was born from a crazy (fou) idea to gather together in one place « la crème de la crème », the best creations of the greatest French pastry chefs.

With my camera in one hand, a snack (un gôuter) in the other, I often forgot to take pictures!

La Meringaie Martyrs

This patisserie specializes in all things meringue. Meringues are light and airy delightful treats that dissolve in your mouth. I could almost convince myself that I haven’t indulged in something decadent.

However, my very favorite would have to be a pavlova, a meringue created in homage to the famous ballerina Anna Pavlova. The meringue is filled with lightly sweetened whipped cream and mounds of fresh fruit and the whole concoction is absolutely delicious.

Maison Lendemaine Martyrs

This is the third of Maison Lendemain’s bakeries I’ve visited. The quality never disappoints. Often a slice of quiche destined for my dinner and always something sweet for my goûter (afternoon snack) finds its way into my bag. Bread to accompany a cheese purchase is a must.

Sebastian Gaudard

Listed as a confiseur, chocolatier, patissier, and glacier, their website gives a lovely description of each delight. No purchase here. Am I already on sugar over-load?

Palais des thés

I simply cannot walk by a tea shop without dropping in and Palais dés thés is one of my favorites. They have shops all over Paris. My favorite tea is Montagne Bleu. The good news for tea loving Americans is that they also have a US site so you don’t have to pay international shipping.

Le Pain Retrouvé is across the street from the tea shop and provided a much more interesting photo than the shop. There seemed to always be someone waiting to enter the shop which I consider a good sign!

Artisan de la Truffe

This intriguing restaurant serves, as you might have guessed, all things truffle. Not only can you dine here but you can also shop in their boutique for treasures to take home. They also have an e-shop.

La Chambre aux Confitures

I first discovered this shop in the Marais district. It has become a regular stop on my visits to Paris. The “full-bodied chocolate spread”, Pâte à Tartiner Corsée, is exceptional.

But my favorite, they no longer produce –  their cherry chocolate spread . However, they now have a pear and chocolate spread that I’m going to try.

Fromagerie Chataigner

Yes, another cheese shop stop! I stopped to see if they had my favorite cheese filled with fig jam. No fig filled goat cheese – what a disappointment.

Droguerie Saint Georges

I can never resist exploring a quincaillerie which is a curious idea in itself as I don’t find American hardware stores particularly interesting. If nothing else, the view here of Église Notre-Dame-de-Lorette is lovely and a perfect way to end my walk down rue des Martyrs.

Follow the Map to My Favorites on rue des Martyrs

Mon histoire de la rue des Martyrs (en bref) en français…

Je dois admettre que je n’ai pas mangé avant de me promener sur la rue des Martyrs. Pourquoi ? Parce que cette rue est un véritable trésor des marchands de choses qui plaisent le palet.

Je suis arrivée par le métro Pigalle parce que je voulais descendre la rue (et pas monter). Pour commencer, j’ai été déçue de découvrir que la Librairie Vendredi, créée en 1919, est fermée tous les lundis. Quel dommage !

Ma déception s’est envolée

Mais ma déception s’est envolée avec ma plus étonnante découverte de la journée. Une résidente de la Cité Malesherbes m’a heureusement permis d’entrer dans cette rue qui est normalement fermée par une immense porte de fer. Quelle bonne chance !

C’était le bâtiment numéro 9 de l’architecte Anatol Jal (1856) qui porte les superbes scènes polychromes de Pierre-Jules Jollivett que j’ai voulu voir. Jollivett a créé des scènes polychromes pour l’église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul à Paris. Mais, à cette époque, les scènes étaient considérées « scandaleuses par la moralité chrétienne : des personnages trop peu vêtus, des postures trop sensuelles, les couleurs trop vives ». On peut remarquer que même si les panneaux étaient retirés de l’édifice quelques mois après leurs installations, aujourd’hui les polychromes ornent la façade de l’église depuis 2011.

Donc, Jollivett a pris son inspiration des panneaux qu’il a créés pour l’église pour les panneaux que nous voyons aujourd’hui sur sa maison principale.

Une pléthore de choix alimentaires

Ainsi que l’étonnante architecture qu’on peut voir sur la rue, il y a une pléthore de choix alimentaires : les marchands de fromages, les pâtisseries, les boulangeries, etc. En plus, j’ai trouvé un traiteur avec beaucoup d’assiettes faites avec des truffes et son petit magasin qui est rempli de toutes choses truffes.

Malgré les nombreux marchands à découvrir, je réitère que la chose la plus mémorable pour moi était la gentille dame qui m’a laissé entrer dans la Cité Maleherbes pour regarder les superbes panneaux polychromes..