Tour · 6 stops · ~2 hours walking
Phantom Paris
What survived Haussmann.
Between 1853 and 1870 Baron Haussmann demolished about 60% of central Paris. These are the islands of older city that escaped — a Roman bath, two fragments of a 12th-century wall, a 16th-century church-tower with no church, a 15th-century mansion, and a Romanesque chapel. Compact: about 2.5 km of walking.
Through the5e · Latin Quarter4e · Le Marais & Île Saint-Louis1er · Louvre & Les Halles
- 1
Roman baths at Cluny
The frigidarium of the Lutetia thermae, built around 200 AD. A 14 m vaulted brick-and-stone hall, still standing where it was built. The largest extant Roman structure north of the Loire.
Inside the Musée de Cluny, Place Paul-Painlevé. The frigidarium is the first room as you enter — go straight there before the tapestries. Look up to see the original Roman vaulting. Outside, the herb garden retraces the original Roman footprint.
Verified nearby ·Le Champo1 minBouillon Racine3 min
48.85040, 2.34390
2Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre
12th-century church on the Left Bank, opposite Notre-Dame. One of the oldest surviving churches in Paris, built circa 1170 — older than most of Notre-Dame itself. Saved from demolition by being too small to bother with.
The square out front (Square René-Viviani) holds the oldest tree in Paris, planted 1601. Inside, the apse and three aisles are original 12th century. Now a Greek Catholic church; usually open in the afternoons.
From Wikipedia›
Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, in full Église Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, is a Melkite Greek Catholic parish church in Paris, France, and one of the city's oldest religious buildings. Begun in Romanesque style during the 12th century, most of its architecture is Primary Gothic. It is in the 5th arrondissement, on the left bank of the Seine River, about 500 meters away from the Musée de Cluny and not far from the Maubert-Mutualité Paris Métro station. It shares a city block with the Square René Viviani.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Caveau des Oubliettes1 minShakespeare and Company1 min
48.85200, 2.34710
- 3
Wall of Philippe Auguste, Rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul
The longest visible fragment of the 1190 city wall built by Philippe II — 60 m long, with two towers still standing, in the playground of a school. Marais was largely spared by Haussmann (who ran out of money), so wall fragments still survive in courtyards.
Enter Rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul from Rue Saint-Antoine. The fragment is on the south side, easily visible through the school playground railings. There's no plaque — this is just a thirty-second look at a 12th-century wall, accidentally preserved.
Verified nearby ·Hôtel Émile Le Marais2 minMusée de la Magie et des Automates3 min
48.85430, 2.36180
4Hôtel de Sens
1 Rue du Figuier. Late-15th-century fortified mansion — one of only three medieval homes still standing in Paris. Margot de Valois, ex-wife of Henri IV, lived here 1605–1609. Now houses the Bibliothèque Forney (decorative arts library), free entry.
Walk into the courtyard from Rue du Figuier — public access, no reception. The garden behind the mansion is open during library hours. The library upstairs has rotating poster and wallpaper exhibitions, all free, almost always empty.
From Wikipedia›
The Hôtel de Sens or Hôtel des archevêques de Sens is a 16th-century hôtel particulier, or private mansion, in the Marais, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It nowadays houses the Forney art library.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·MIJE Marais2 minHôtel Caron de Beaumarchais5 min
48.85430, 2.35760
5Tour Saint-Jacques
1523. A 52 m flamboyant-Gothic tower — the only remnant of the church Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie, demolished in 1797. The church around it was sold off as building stone after the Revolution, but the tower was kept as a meteorological station.
The small park around it is sat-on, not walked-through — find a bench and look up. The Pascal statue at the base commemorates his 1648 barometer experiments. Climbable on summer weekends only (book ahead).
From Wikipedia›
Tour Saint-Jacques is a monument located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France, on the Rive Droite. This 52-metre (171 ft) Flamboyant Gothic tower at the intersection of the Rue de Rivoli with Rue Nicolas-Flamel is all that remains of the former medieval Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie, which was partially rebuilt in the 16th-century and demolished in 1797, during the French Revolution, leaving only the tower. The stones of the old church were treated as if it were a quarry.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Le Duc des Lombards4 minHôtel Britannique4 min
48.85800, 2.34930
6Conciergerie
On Île de la Cité. The medieval royal palace, mostly rebuilt over centuries but with three of its four 14th-century turrets still standing along the Seine. The oldest civic clock in Paris (1370) on the Tour de l'Horloge — also the original.
Walk along Quai de l'Horloge first to see the four turrets and the clock from outside. Then enter from the same quay for the medieval halls (paid; combined ticket with Sainte-Chapelle is good value).
From Wikipedia›
The Conciergerie is a former courthouse and prison in Paris, France located on the west of the Île de la Cité below the Palais de Justice. It was originally part of the former royal palace, the Palais de la Cité, which also included the Sainte-Chapelle. Two large medieval halls remain from the royal palace. During the French Revolution, 2,781 prisoners, including Marie Antoinette, were imprisoned, tried and sentenced at the Conciergerie then sent to different sites to be executed by the guillotine. It’s now a national monument and museum.
Read more on Wikipedia →48.85560, 2.34570