Paris
Paris
+ Exploring Paris
Sights
* Pont Alexandre III
* Arc de Triomphe
* Art Moderne de La Ville de Paris, Musée d'
* Arts Asiatiques-guimet, Musée National des/Panthéon Bouddhique
* Arts Décoratifs, Musée des
* Arts et Métiers-techniques, Musée des National
* Assemblée Nationale Palais-Bourbon
* Baccarat, Musée
* Balzac, Maison de
* Bastille
* Bibliothèque Nationale De France
* Carnavalet, Musée
* Cernuschi, Musée
* Chaillot, Palais de
* Cité, Ile de la
* Cognacq-Jay, Musée
* La Conciergerie
* Concorde, Place de la
* Eugène Delacroix, Musée National
* Faubourg St-Germain
* Faubourg St-Honoré
* Galliéra, Musée
* Gobelins, Manufacture Nationale des
* Grand Palais
* Grands Boulevards
* Les Halles
* Hôtel De Ville
* Institut De France
* Institut du Monde Arabe
* Jacquemart-André, Musée
* Jeu de Paume
* Madeleine, Eglise de la
* Maillol, Musée
* Le Marais
* Marmottan-monet, Musée
* Monnaie de Paris, Musée de la
* Montmartre
* Montparnasse
* Moyen-Age, Musée National du
* Musique, Musée de la
* Nissim de Camondo, Musée
* Opéra Garnier
* Orangerie, Musée National de l'
* Palais-Royal
* Panthéon
* Parfum, Musée du
* Pavillon de l'Arsenal
* Père-Lachaise, Cimetière du
* Picasso, Musée
* Plantes, Jardin des
* Quartier Latin
* Rodin, Musée
* Sacré-Coeur, Basilique du
* St-Germain-des-Prés
* Saint-Louis, Ile
* St-Sulpice, Église
* Sainte-Chapelle
* Tuileries, Jardin des
* Vendôme, Place
* Vosges, Place des
Vicinity
+ Vicinity
Walk/Drive
Food&Drink
In The Know
Did You Know?
( Do not miss )
The sedate old-world atmosphere of this historic enclave at the heart of the city, its architectural beauty and cultural diversity are unique.
As its name suggests, Le Marais was once an area of marshland on the Right Bank of the Seine. In the 13th century, the area was drained and cultivated by monks and the Knights Templars. However, it was the construction of the place des Vosges at the beginning of the 17th century and the subsequent rapid urbanisation of the district that produced a wealth of beautiful domestic architecture and gave Le Marais its unique character. When fashions changed in the late 18th century, the district gradually became derelict and had to wait until the 1970s to be rediscovered and renovated.
Today Le Marais, which extends from the Hôtel de Ville to the place de la Bastille, offers visitors narrow picturesque streets, cafés and bistros, elegant mansions, tiny boutiques and a lively population that includes an important Jewish community. It is also one of the favourite haunts of the gay community.
Around every corner is another delightful mansion. These houses are no longer privately owned: some have been turned into museums, sometimes with striking results (Musée Picasso). One of the most imposing, the Hôtel de Soubise, houses the Musée de l'Histoire de France, where historic documents are displayed amidst a profusion of Louis XV decoration. An unusual museum dedicated to hunting and nature (Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature) is housed in the Hôtel de Guénégaud des Brosses, built by François Mansart. Here hunting arms dating from prehistory until the 19th century are on display, plus paintings and decorative arts on the subject of hunting.
Musée de l'Histoire de France
Address: Hôtel de Soubise, 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75003 ParisPhone: 01 40 27 60 96
Hours: Telephone in advance for opening times: restructuring taking place until spring 2005; temporary exhibitions
Bus: 29, 75, 96
Metro: Hôtel de Ville
Accessible: None
Admission: Inexpensive
Practical: Shop
Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
Address: Hôtel de Guénégaud des Brosses, 60 rue des Archives, 75003 ParisPhone: 01 53 01 92 40
Hours: 11-6; closed Mon and bank hols
Bus: 29, 75
Metro: Hôtel de Ville
Accessible: None
Admission: Moderate
Practical: Bookshop
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