In Review: La Mouette Rieuse, Ideal for Un-Kitschy Gifts & Souvenirs in the Marais

...plus, why most should skip eating out on the nearby Place des Vosges

Dear Subscribers,

Recently, we met up in Paris with friends visiting from New York, and made a little discovery I thought I’d share with y’all— since I think it may be of interest whether you’re plotting a stay in the capital or live there.

After enjoying a ritualistic lunch of falafel from the Rue des Rosiers, we sat in an unusually quiet square away from the hordes (and where, remarkably, we weren’t assailed by pigeons and aggressive sparrows trying to steal the contents of our pitas).

As we were leaving the tiny garden (whose location I’ve decided, in a rather uncharitable move, not to explicitly reveal since it was so unusually peaceful for the Marais), we spotted the back of a glass building with an intriguing sign painted on the tall windows: “La Mouette Rieuse” (translating to “The Laughing Seagull”).

I was oddly intrigued. So I dragged my partner and friends in to see what it was all about. Could it be a maritime-themed clothing shop selling winking, Jean-Paul-Gaultier-style couture masquerading as sailors’ garb? (to be fair, this was probably a decent possibility in Paris’ principle “gayborhood”). A contemporary seafood restaurant? Something else?