Living Local in Paris #7

All over Paris, you can find markets with stalls selling all sorts of products.  Parisians love their markets and go there on market days to buy food, clothing, housewares, antiques and so on.  

On a recent Saturday morning, we visited Marché Maubert, a food market in Place Maubert in the 5th arrondissement.

Place Maubert has hosted a market off and on since the 1500's making it one of the oldest in Paris.  The market is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  Friends who live nearby recommended the market to us.  We are glad they did.  We enjoyed visiting such a lively market with many stalls offering all sorts of fresh food and other products.

  

Below is a photographic tasting menu of what we saw.   

When we visited, figs were in season.  So, Marie-Chantal bought a few.  

We especially like Marché Maubert because many food shops are also located on the square.  Two of the shops are especially noteworthy.  One is the Fromagerie Laurent Dubois, known for creating new types of cheese.

We selected one of their specialty cheeses, a Robiola Cerise.  The cheese is wrapped in cherry leaves which infuses a hint of cherry flavor in the cheese.    

Another noteworthy shop is the boulangerie (bakery) L'Maison d'Isabelle, an award-winning bakery.  Its most recent achievement was First Place prize for best croissant in Paris.  

We tasted their croissants and they were excellent--fresh, warm, buttery, delicious.  We even saw a batch baking in the oven. 

The bakery sells all sorts of bread and pastries, including a special pastry.  Check it out.

We enjoyed shopping at the Marché Maubert.  And we enjoyed eating what we brought home.  

A collection of treats from the Marché Maubert:  Baguette, cheese, croissant, figs, pastries and wine.

Thanks for visiting Marché Maubert with us.  

P.S.  Marché Maubert's location, the Place Maubert, has an interesting history.  It was once the site of outdoor university classes.  In the middle ages, professors would give lectures on theology and philosophy in the square.

Later, during the 1500's to 1600's, the square was also the site of frequent public executions, by hanging, burning and the ordeal of the wheel.   

We think a market is better use of Place Maubert.

P.S. After publishing the blog post above, we heard from Parisian friend Jean-Charles, who explained that, when his wife Eliane was very young, she and her brother lived near Place Maubert.  They would go to Place Maubert on May 1, the Fête du Muguet, and sell muguet flowers, which represent good fortune.  Offering muguet on May 1 is a longstanding French custom.