A Paris day tasting through the Marais

Christophe Vasseur's bakery — small, tiled, queued. Order the escargot praliné-chocolat and a pain des amis. Eat the snail in the street outside before the chocolate softens.

Walk the locks from rue des Vinaigriers south. The iron footbridges over the canal are photo-worthy. Coffee at Ten Belles on rue de la Grange-aux-Belles if the pastry wasn't enough; natural wines at Le Verre Volé if it's already past twelve.

A takeaway counter in the Marais Jewish quarter. The queue moves fast. Order the special platter with harissa and extra aubergine; eat standing at one of the tiny metal tables out front or along the pavement.

The oldest planned square in Paris, symmetrical pink brick under slate roofs. Walk the arcades, lie on the grass. The Carnavalet on the north corner is free and tells the city's history in themed rooms — an hour is enough.

The oldest food market in Paris, opened 1615. Walk through; a second lunch of bibimbap from the Korean stall if you skipped the falafel queue, or a glass of Moroccan mint tea from the stall at the west end.

The inside-out building on the western Marais edge. Ride the escalators up the outside; the top-floor terrace has a view over Paris that the tourists on the Eiffel Tower don't get — the river laid flat to the south.

An 1864 Alsatian brasserie with a glass dome and turn-of-the-century tiled walls. Choucroute royale with a glass of Riesling. Platters are enormous; share one between two and leave room for the tarte flambée next.