Le Marais Walking Tours

Your Private Tour Guide in Paris

Why Take a Marais Walking Tour with Us?

Yves, the Broaden-horizons tour guide in Paris, knows the Marais very well as he has lived there for more than 15 years.

Yves is at home there, so you'd better choose us if you want a Marais walking tour.

Civil remains from the Middle Ages are quite rare in Paris. Some of the most impressive ones are in the Marais.

During your Marais Walking Tour, you will discover the most significant remaining portion of the Paris city wall of the 1200s. The Wall was commissioned by the King of France, Philip Augustus, before leaving for the Third Crusade, to protect Paris from any attack by the English troops of Richard the Lionheart (the English king of the Robin Hood story).

The Hôtel de Sens  is a Flamboyant Gothic palace. The archbishops of Sens built it at the end of the 15th century when Paris was still a diocese suffragan to the Archdiocese of Sens. In 1622, Paris became an archdiocese.

The palace's formal French garden, ornamented with box trees, is open to the public.

Most of the very few remaining timber houses in Paris are in the Marais.

The nicest one is the Hôtel Maubuisson, which was built in the 15th century. It was the city house of the Maubuisson Abbey, founded in A.D. 1236 by Blanche of Castile, Queen of France and mother of Saint Louis.

Nowadays, it is a nice and affordable youth hostel.

The Marais is the Parisian district of the Renaissance (16th C.) and the French "Grand Siècle" (17th C.). A lot of prestigious "hôtels particuliers" (private mansions) of the era can still be seen:

• Hôtel d'Aumont
• Hôtel de Beauvais
• Hôtel Hénault de Cantobre
• Hôtel Carnavalet
• Hôtel d'Angoulême Lamoignon
• Hôtel de Chalon Luxembourg
• Hôtel de Sully, etc.

The Hôtel d'Angoulême Lamoignon was completed in 1586 for the Duchess of Angoulême, the legitimized daughter of King Henry II of France. The mansion is an exceptional witness to the French Renaissance. It is now the historical library of the city of Paris.

The Hôtel d'Angoulême Lamoignon is now the historical library of the city of Paris. Photo credit: Broaden-Horizons.

Hôtel de Sully is the most famous and prestigious mansion of the Marais. It is named after its most prestigious owner, the Duke of Sully, who was King Henry IV's main minister at the end of the Renaissance period.

It is a reference for the architectural design of private mansions "entre cour et jardin" (between courtyard and garden) that appeared in Paris in the 16th century.

On the courtyard side, you can admire the early 17th-century facade, adorned with Mannerist high-relief sculpture.

The garden side, with its symmetrical box trees, follows the French style and ends with an amazing orangery.

Nowadays, the hôtel serves as a passage between rue Saint-Antoine (courtyard side) and the Place des Vosges (garden side); it is also the headquarters of the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (French for "National Monuments Center").

King Henry IV of France commissioned the square at the end of the Renaissance. However, as Henry IV was assassinated in 1610, his son Louis XIII finally inaugurated it in 1612.

Place des Vosges is one of Paris's five royal squares, along with Place Dauphine, Place de la Concorde, Place des Victoires, and Place Vendôme. During the French Revolution, the Place Royale was renamed Place des Vosges in 1792.

This is one of the nicest places in Paris, and, with the Île Saint-Louis, it is one of the most expensive in terms of real estate.

Here is the Maison de Victor Hugo museum; the famous French novelist lived there from October 1832 to July 1848.

There is a long list of famous people who lived on the Place des Vosges; among them,
at number 11, from 1639 to 1648, Marion de L'Orme, well known for having been the mistress of the Duke of Buckingham and also of the Cardinal de Richelieu. Place des Vosges is a time machine that brings you back directly to the time of D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers!

A reference in Paris's history from the Middle Ages to WWII.

In front of the Hôtel de Ville is the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville. Before 1802 and from the early Middle Ages, it was called the Place de Grève (The French word grève refers to the shores or banks of a body of water). In the Middle Ages, the Port of Paris was there; it was also the place of most public executions with the gallows and the pillory.

The Place de Grève saw the first use of the guillotine.

In the Middle Ages, the "city hall" was called the "Maison aux Piliers" (House of Pillars). In 1533, King Francis I ordered the construction of a new, modern Renaissance city hall. It was heavily damaged during the "Commune de Paris" (1871) and rebuilt from 1873 to 1892.

Just beside the Hôtel de Ville is BHV Marais, one of the five world-famous Paris department stores. 

Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais Church (15th to 17th centuries).

The church was first built in Flamboyant Gothic, but after the work was interrupted, the facade, built between 1616 and 1620, introduced an entirely new classical style, which opened the way for the French Baroque.

The Chapel of the Virgin has some of the oldest stained glass windows in the Flamboyant Gothic style (1517), and one made in 1533, "The Judgement of Solomon," in the colorful Renaissance style.

White Flamboyant Gothic choir of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais church. Photo credit: Broaden-Horizons.

Rue Saint-Antoine

This street, the former main entrance to Paris, is full of history, from Ancient Rome to the French Revolution. It is also full of traditional French shops (food stores, cheesemongers, patisseries, butcher's shops, delicatessens, etc.), mainly around Place Saint-Paul.

Métro Saint-Paul in place Saint-Paul with its famous carousel. This is the heart of Le Marais district. Photo credit: Broaden-Horizons.

The Pletz

In the north, just beside Place Saint-Paul, is the Pletzl (the historical Jewish district of Paris). Pletzl in Yiddish means "little place"; this refers to Place Saint-Paul (the little square), as opposed to the Place des Vosges (the big royal square). The Pletzl is the ideal place to try spicy Jewish food, such as the traditional bagels.

Photo: Jardin des Rosiers with some remains of the wall of Paris (built around 1200). The garden entrance is rue des Rosiers in the Pletzl. These are the most impressive remains of the wall after those of the Village Saint-Paul. Photo credit: Broaden-Horizons.

The Marais is also full of bars and restaurants

Some of them are even installed directly on the Seine riverside, which have become very popular since the former Seine expressway was transformed into a strolling place for pedestrians and bicycles in the Le Marais area.

• Hôtel Carnavalet
• Hôtel de Soubise
• Hôtel d’Albret
• Hôtel de Châtillon
• Hôtel Aubert de Fontenay (hôtel Salé) - musée Picasso
• Hôtel de Marle - Institut Tessin, also known as the Centre culturel suédois.

We don't enter the mansions ("hôtels particuliers"); nevertheless, we walk a little in their yards or gardens when possible.

Hôtel de Châtillon, Marais, Paris. Photo credit: Broaden-Horizons.

The extra time on the Marais Extended Tour can also be dedicated to exploring some of the tour's themes or locations or to discovering hidden gems.

The off-the-beaten-track Marais is indeed full of secret gardens, with first of all the gardens of the Hôtel de Soubise.

We can also focus on some gourmet-oriented hidden gems of the Marais, such as the patisserie "Aux Merveilleux," which specializes in merveilleux, a magnificent pastry known for its unique layered construction of meringue and French whipped cream, or the Méert boutique, famous for its waffles since 1677. Both famous maisons are originally from Lille (French Flanders). Or, if you like chocolate, Debauve & Gallais, once known as the chocolate supplier of Marie-Antoinette, recently opened a boutique on the Place des Vosges.  

If French food and traditions are really an important matter for you, we can even end the tour at the famous Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest food market in Paris, dating back to 1615.

Aux Merveilleux, a famous patisserie shop. The Merveilleux is a fantastic meringue patisserie from Lille (north of France), with several variations available, including the original chocolate version and others with flavors like coffee, speculoos (spiced), caramel, and cherry. Photo credit: Broaden-Horizons.

We offer two Marais Revolution tours. Even if they are specifically oriented to the French Revolution, they also provide alternative routes and visions of the Marais. If asked, their French Revolution content may be significantly lightened to make it more accessible to all audiences. Both tours include the Marais's most famous milestone: Place des Vosges.

Marais French Revolution Tour 2.5-hour

The Marais is also an iconic place of the French Revolution. It is the district of Bastille and Hôtel de Ville, two of the most critical areas of the French Revolution.  As the Marais was remarkably well preserved from the 19th-century Haussmannian transformation of Paris, it often offers the opportunity to truly walk in the footsteps of the frenzied mobs of the French Revolution.

The 2.5-hour Marais French Revolution starts from Place de la Bastille and ends at the Hôtel de Ville.

Marais French Revolution Tour 3-hour

The Marais 3-hour tour is the same as the 2.5-hour one but with an extension to the Île de la Cité, where there are two other iconic places of the French Revolution: Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Conciergerie.

Notre-Dame was severely damaged during the French Revolution and was also the place of the coronation of Napoleon in December 1804, one of the possible milestones of the end of the French Revolution.

The Conciergerie was Marie Antoinette's last prison before her execution in October 1793.

The 3-hour Marais French Revolution starts from Place de la Bastille and ends on the Île de la Cité in front of the Conciergerie.

Notre-Dame to Le Marais Walking Tour (2.5-hour)

The tour includes commentary on the exterior of Notre-Dame; then we cross the bridge from the Île de la Cité to the Île Saint-Louis and on to the right bank of the Seine. It's one of the greatest strolls in Paris, if not the nicest. Then we walk to Place des Vosges, passing beside some of the most important monuments of the Marais (Hôtel de Sens, City Wall of Philippe Augustus, etc.).

Even if the Île Saint-Louis is considered an extension of the Marais (this is historically the case), this tour only gives a first approach to the Marais.

Nevertheless, it is probably one of the best tours for a first-timer in Paris.

See/book our Notre-Dame to Le Marais Tour (2.5-hour)

Notre-Dame Cathedral to Le Marais Extended Tour (3-hour)

The 3-hour version of the tour adds an extra half hour, providing the tour with more flexibility. The tour can be oriented in four ways, depending on the customer's desires, previous knowledge of Paris, and other factors.

1. Dedicate the extra half hour to taking more time over the whole tour.

2. Dedicate the extra half hour to the Marais (right bank) to include a full Marais tour (See Marais 2-hour tour description)

3. Dedicate the extra half hour to focus more on the Île Saint-Louis.

4. Dedicate the extra half hour to exploring a little of the Left Bank close to Notre-Dame Cathedral.

See / book our Notre-Dame to Le Marais Tour Extended (3 hours)

Focus on île Saint-Louis

Urbanized in the 17th century, the island is full of prestigious "hôtels particuliers" on the bank of the river; it is traditionally the most expensive district of Paris.

Many famous people lived there, including the sculptor Camille Claudel (see our Rodin museum tour), former French president Georges Pompidou, and the famous French baroque painter Philippe de Champaigne (See our 17th-century French painting Louvre tour).

The Île Saint-Louis is also famous for its tea room and ice-cream maker Berthillon, known for decades for making the best ice creams and sorbets in Paris.

The exact program of the tour will depend on the pace of the group, but we should normally see on our stroll the following monuments/landmarks:

• Panthéon
• Luxembourg Garden and Palace
• Ancient Roman Baths of Lutetia (Paris' name during Ancient Rome)
• Hôtel de Sully
• Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre Church
• Saint-Sulpice Church
• Île de la Cité and Notre-Dame Cathedral
• Île Saint-Louis
• Timber houses of the Marais
• Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis Church
• Hôtel de Sully
• Place des Vosges.

We do not enter the monuments; if possible, we may enter some churches, but not Notre-Dame Cathedral.

See / Book the Latin Quarter to Marais Private Tour.

This tour is designed for first-time visitors to Paris who want to discover the city's heart and history and see the Louvre Museum in one day.

This tour, which ends with a 2-hour Louvre evening tour, also includes:

• A Quartier Latin walk: with the Panthéon, the Luxembourg Garden and Palace, and the Ancient Roman Baths of Lutetia (Paris' name during Ancient Rome).
• An Île de la Cité walk: with the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Sainte-Chapelle.
• A Marais walk: with its medieval, Renaissance, and French Baroque heritage.

See/book the Paris Full-day Tour Version 2 with a Louvre Evening Tour and Marais walk included.