(Tribune Media Services) — As I dodge Parisians walking their poodles and pushing baby strollers in a vibrant market street, I’m reminded that one of the reasons Paris is endlessly entertaining is because of its neighborhoods. On streets such as rue des Martyrs, real people make cozy communities in the midst of this vast, high-powered city. You find a warm and human vibrancy you miss when just hopping from big museum to museum.

Locals know the butcher serves top grade beef — a big concern after what they translate as the "crazy cow" problem. The ceiling hooks — where butchers once hung sides of beef — now display just a red medallion that certifies the slaughtered cow’s quality.

At the patisserie you can jostle with a discerning and salivating clientele for the tasty, little typically French works of art. They bake up special treats in sync with each season: Easter, Christmas or whatever. I’m here at the end of the school year and it’s the season for First Communions — so that’s the theme filling the window displays.

Rue des Martyrs finishes with a commercial climax before ending at the neighborhood church — the Neoclassical (from 1836) Notre Dame de Lorette. And from there, steps lead into the Metro, where all of Paris is just 1.10 euros ($1.60) and a few minutes away.

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written by Andrew