Location : 75005 - Latin Quarter | Rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire

Take in a taste of the Oriental world amidst the glitter of the City of Lights. On Rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, you will find the most unexpected. Here is the Paris Mosque. While this little sentinel of Arabic architecture and customs is an unlikely attraction by itself, don't just marvel at the white facade with colorful stone ornamentations. Delve inside and you will be transported into one of those tales of Arabian Nights that we so loved many moons ago.

Eid: take a break, contemplate (Source: Bu) 

In the tea room, try out the mint tea, which for many, is the best they ever had the chance to sip. Cross the patio and you'll be greeted with an authentic Arab souk - right there in Paris. Haggle for the pretty or the bizarre and take a little bit of mystery back with you.

The basin (Source: Vincent Brassinne) 

Location : Paris Suburb | Hauts-de-Seine department southwest of Paris

If you think that you have seen all that there is in Paris proper and its important suburbs, it is time to reconsider. Meandering on tender foot along the Paris borders, easily accessible by the metro, you will find the enchanting backwaters of Malakoff. Take a stroll to discover a potpourri of community life.

malakoff station (Source: Miranda Iossifidis) 

Here you will find 'cute' houses, charming bistro in the backyards , cats and potted plants decorating the windowsills of almost all the houses and colorful life full of smile.

bistro (Source: Tom Sparks) 

Location: 116 bis boulevard Voltaire

Now this is a far cry from Stephen King's work with the same name. Nevertheless, it is a matter of perspective of course. Staying on the prettier side, the Paris Pet cemetery is one of its kind. While the rest come to get a glimpse of the graves of the Grand Masters and tries to unearth the Roselin with the Da Vinci Code paperbacks in their hands and cameras around their necks, let us take a minute for our dear departed animal friends.

Ramses (Source: Sarah Elzas) 

In a sanitary gesture way ahead of its time, a law in 1898 forbid people from just throwing their dead dogs into the streets, the trash or the Seine river. Thus the Pet Cemetery of Paris was formed by Georges Harmois and Marguerite Durance in 1899, and they called it the Societe Francaise Anonyme du Cimetiere pour Chiens et autres Animaux Domestiques (The Anonymous French Association for the Cemetery for dogs and other animals Domestics).

(Source: Paris Pet Cemetery) 

Pussy 1988-2000 (Source: Sarah Elzas) 

Location : 39 rue de Bretagne, Paris, 75003 | 3rd Arrondissement, enter on rue Charlot

Established in the early 1600s, this is an ancient shopping area - the oldest covered market in Paris. Time has taken its toll;  new facade replacing the original, but it still is home to countless cheese-mongers, colorful grocers and exotic vintners . To add to that, you will find a plethora of small restaurants in every turn, catering to all cravings; Italian, Japanese, French, Afro-Caribbean, Middle Eastern and more.

May 18th, 2010 7:52 pm

Great place to do shopping or to eat at the Japanese or Moroccan restaurants during lunch. The Italian Mangiamo is excellent for ham and Alain the boulanger has very good and pleasantly served cereal breads. The "Au coin bio" food stall serves food that tastes very much like shredded cardboard and just as tricky to swallow. The Rotisserie however is the best part and you can sample the scrumptious rillette or veal on weekends on the terrace.

(Source: New York Times) 

Photographie au Marché des Enfants Rouges (Paris 3ème) (27) (Source: Jacques Froissant)