Marais

From Paris Hotels Reviews

The Marais

Located on the Right Bank, just west of the Bastille, the Marais is one of the most seductive areas of central Paris, perfect for idle wandering. Largely untouched by Baron Haussmann and modern development, it preserves its magnificent Renaissance hotels particuliers (mansion) and enchanting narrow streets. The area was little more than a riverside swamp (marais) up until the thirteenth century, when the Knights Templar moved into its northern section, now known as the quartier du Temple, and gegan ti drain the land. It became a magnet for the aristocracy in the early 1900s after the construction of the place des Vosges – or place Royale, as it was then known – by Henry IV in 1605. This golden age was relatively short-lived, however, for the aristocracy began to move away after the king took his court to Versailles in the latter part of the seventeenth century, leaving their grand houses to the trading classes, who were in turn displaced during the Revolution. From then on, the mansions became multi-occupied slum tenements and the streets degenerated into unserviced squalor – hard to believe, now that the Marais is one of the most desirable areas of the city.

Gentrification proceeded apace from the 1960s, and the quarter is now known for its exclusivity, sophistication and artsy leanings, and for being the neighbourhood of choice for gay Parisians. Renovated hotel particuliers, with their intimate courtyards and sumptuous architectural detail, have become chic flats, boutiques and offices; some also provide splendid settings for a number of excellent museums, not least among them, the Musee Picasso, the Musee Carnavalet history museum, to which entry is free, and the Musee d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaisme.

The main artery running through the Marais, dividing it roughly north and south, is the busy rue de Rivoli and its continuation to the Bastille, rue St-Antoine. South of this line is the quarter St-Paul-St-Gervais, with its antique shops and atmospheric backstreets. To the north are most of the museums, place des Vosges and the quartier de Temple. Prime streets for explorations are rue des Francs-bourgeois, lined with trendy fashion and interior-design boutiques; rue des Rosiers, the old Jewish quarter; and rue Vieille-du-Temple and rue des Archives, their terraced cafés and bars humming with life at all times of day and night. Every street has an abundance of colour and detail: magnificent portes cochères (huge double carriage gates), secluded cobbled courtyards, stone and iron bollards that protected pedestrians from ruthless carriage drivers, elegant iron railings and gates, sculpted house fronts, chichi boutiques and ethnic grocers.

The Marais incidentally, is one of the few areas of the city where most shops, cafés and restaurants remain open on a Sunday (usually 2pm to 6pm) – may Parisians come here for brunch and spend the afternoon browsing the shops and strolling around the place des Vosges. The main metro stops for the area are M° Hotel de Ville and, a little further east, M° St-Paul.