Tour · 6 stops · ~75 min walking
Upper Marais
North of Place des Vosges.
The Marais beyond the tourist concentrations — the upper end where the streets are narrower, the hôtels particuliers smaller, and the food and gallery scene more recent. A 6-stop loop, about 2 km.
1Square du Temple
Where the medieval Temple complex once stood — the headquarters of the Knights Templar in France, demolished by Napoleon in 1808. Louis XVI was imprisoned in the Temple's tower from 1792 until his execution. Now a gentle public garden with a bandstand and a playground.
Enter from Rue de Bretagne. The bronze plaque on the south wall traces the outline of the medieval Temple precinct. The garden's hidden secret: a small carp pond at the back, almost always empty of visitors.
From Wikipedia›
The Square du Temple – Elie-Wiesel is a garden square in Paris, France, in the 3rd arrondissement, established in 1857. It is one of 24 city squares planned and created by Georges-Eugène Haussmann and Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand. The square occupies the site of a medieval fortress in Paris, known as the Enclos du Temple, which was built by the Knights Templar. Parts of the fortress were later used as a prison during the French Revolution and then demolished by the mid-19th century.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Chez Omar2 minLe Traiteur Marocain (Enfants Rouges)3 min
→Walk east on Rue de Bretagne to no. 39. Marché des Enfants Rouges is one block away.
48.86310, 2.36030
2Marché des Enfants Rouges
39 Rue de Bretagne, founded 1615 — the oldest covered market in Paris. Equal parts produce and prepared-food stalls. The market exists today because in 1912 the city wanted to demolish it; locals successfully petitioned the heritage office and it was saved.
Closed Mondays. Lunch counters until 14:30; the Moroccan tagine and Italian deli are the standouts. For a takeaway pastry, look for the Lebanese counter in the south-east corner.
From Wikipedia›
The Marché des Enfants Rouges is the oldest covered market in Paris, France. It was established in 1628 as the "petit marché du Marais" and is located at 39 Rue de Bretagne in the Marais (3rd) arrondissement. The market has been listed as a historic monument since 1982.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Le Traiteur Marocain (Enfants Rouges)1 minChez Omar1 min
→Walk south on Rue Charlot, then west on Rue de Thorigny. Musée Picasso is at no. 5. ~5 min.
48.86290, 2.36210
3Musée Picasso
Hôtel Salé, 5 Rue de Thorigny — a 1659 mansion built by a salt-tax collector (hence the name). Has held the national Picasso collection since 1985: 5,000 works donated by the artist's heirs in lieu of inheritance taxes. The renovated 17th-century interiors compete with the paintings.
Free first Sunday of each month. The fourth-floor attic galleries (sculpture and ceramics) are the least crowded — most visitors burn out on the second floor. Allow at least 2 hours.
From Wikipedia›
Musée Picasso Paris is an art gallery located in the Hôtel Salé on the Rue de Thorigny, in the Marais district of Paris, France, dedicated to the work of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). The museum collection includes more than 5,000 works of art including paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramics, prints, engravings, and notebooks, as well as tens of thousands of archived pieces from Picasso's personal repository, including the artist's photographic archive, personal papers, correspondence, and author manuscripts. A large portion of items were donated by Picasso's family after his death, in accord with the wishes of the artist, who lived in France from 1905 to 1973.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Breizh Café (Le Marais)2 minMusée Cognacq-Jay3 min
→Walk west on Rue de Thorigny, then south on Rue Vieille-du-Temple to no. 60. Hôtel de Soubise is a quick block south. ~7 min.
48.85970, 2.36240
4Hôtel de Soubise
60 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, originally built 1375 as the Hôtel de Clisson, rebuilt 1705 in rococo style for the Prince de Soubise. Now houses the Archives nationales — and one of the city's most extravagant rococo interiors, the Salon de la Princesse, with painted panels by Boucher and Natoire.
The courtyard is free to enter; the interior salons require a temporary-exhibition ticket. The medieval Tour de Clisson — sole surviving fragment of the 14th-century original mansion — is in the south-eastern corner of the courtyard.
From Wikipedia›
The Hôtel de Soubise is a city mansion entre cour et jardin. It is located at 60 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, France.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Chez Marianne2 minL'As du Fallafel2 min
→Walk south on Rue des Archives, then west on Rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie. Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine is a short detour. ~5 min.
48.85850, 2.35890
- 5
Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine
A small pedestrianised square laid out 1783 on the site of a former market. Surrounded on three sides by 18th-century buildings; the four cafés on the square set up tables under the chestnut trees. One of the quietest squares in central Paris on a weekday afternoon.
Lunch at any of the four cafés is reliable and the square is what you came for. Le Bourguignon du Marais (no. 17) is the standby. Walk through slowly.
Verified nearby ·Hôtel Émile Le Marais2 minPasta Linea2 min
→Walk south on Rue Caron to Rue Saint-Antoine, then west three blocks to Place des Vosges. ~5 min.
48.85590, 2.36230
6Place des Vosges
Inaugurated 1612 as Place Royale — the oldest planned square in Paris, and the obvious end-point of any Marais walk. Victor Hugo lived at no. 6 from 1832 to 1848; his apartment is now a free museum.
Walk under the arcades on the south side rather than across the lawn. Maison de Victor Hugo (free) is at no. 6. End the route by sitting on the central lawn for a moment — the only formal square in Paris where lawn-sitting is officially allowed.
From Wikipedia›
The Place des Vosges, originally the Place Royale, is the oldest planned square in Paris, just before the Place Dauphine. It is located in the Marais district, and it straddles the dividing-line between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements. It is an enclosed square, accessible via a main street on one of its four sides and two streets running beneath pavilions. It was a fashionable and expensive square to live in during the 17th and 18th centuries, and one of the main reasons for the chic nature of the Marais among the Parisian nobility. Along with the Place des Victoires, the Place Dauphine, the Place Vendôme and the Place de la Concorde, it is one of the five royal squares in Paris.
Read more on Wikipedia →Verified nearby ·Pasta Linea3 min
48.85540, 2.36550