The 3rd arrondissement, much livelier than its elder brother the second, offers strollers a wide variety of pleasures. First and foremost, it's famous for its Parisian-style traffic jams, as well as the Musée des Arts et Métiers in the Temple district. It is also home to a lively craft industry and numerous fashion boutiques on rue Franc-Bourgeois.
With a good number of very affordable hôtels particuliers, visitors to the Louvre can sit close by without spending the 1,000 euros per night that the cheapest room at the Ritz costs. Then there's the Marais district, where you'll find traces of the famous Templars for the more historically minded, as well as certain vestiges of the Middle Ages. The muée Picasso will allow the budding artist to draw inspiration from the master while eating an old-fashioned Parisian pastry bought on rue Malraux.
Museums not to be missed
When it comes to museums, it's impossible to visit the 3rd arrondissement without visiting the Musée des Arts et Métiers, also known as the "Louvre of techniques". Spread over three levels, the museum's first floor features a transport section, with old sailing boats and vehicles from before the railway era, antique locomotives restored for the occasion, a copy of the legendary Ford T and four old Parisian streetcars.
In the first, you'll find everything to do with construction and energy, with models of various buildings on Rue Rivoli and a guided tour of the evolution of different forms of energy, from brute animal power to kerosene lamps and nuclear power. On the second floor, visitors will find a range of measuring instruments, including machines dating back to Pascal (1642) and a life-size reconstruction of Lavoisier's laboratory.
The Musée Picasso is home to many of the master's original works. Located on rue de Thorigny, it features the painter's youth, with the Bateau-Lavoir, and the violently baroque Grands-Nus. The museum also contains a succession of his sentimental and political adventures, an account of his life as an artist and his various Cubist, Neoclassical and Surrealist periods.
Find a restaurant in the 3rd arrondissement
On the food front, we recommend Le Vieux Molière at 12 passage Molière, renowned for its noble products, L'Anahi with its old-fashioned charcuterie served retro-style, and Le Progrès on rue Bretagne (it's advisable to order as soon as you arrive, as the restaurant is always full). You can also sip a lemonade at La Perle on rue Vieille-du-Temple, or for the trendy, a mocato coffee at Bar du Murano (with its marvellous view over boulevard du temple).
Access
To get there, you can take the M3 (Réaumur-Sébastopol, Arts et métiers and Temple stops), M4 (Strasbourg-Saint-Denis and Réaumur-Sébastopol stops), M5 (République stop), M8 (Réaumur-Sébastopol, Saint-Sébastien-Froissart and Chemin Vert stops), M9 (Strasbourg-Saint-Denis and République stops) and M11 (Rambuteau, Arts et métiers and République stops) metros.
Consult the Paris metro map and stations to get around the capital quickly and efficiently.
