The Marais

The South Marais (Saint-Paul) is taken up in the Fourth Arrondissement

History of the Marais

The Marais - which means marsh in French - is the area of modern day Paris which was once covered by swamps. In the Twelfth Century the Templars cleared the marshes located to the North of the Philippe Auguste wall. Beginning in the Sixteenth Century, but mostly after the creation of the Royal Square by Henri IV in 1605 (later called the Place des Vosges), the Marais became the preferred spot for the aristocratic mansions (hôtels particuliers) built between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Centuries. When the King moved from the Royal Square to the Louvre then to Versailles, the Marais began to decline. The high society came to prefer the districts (faubourgs) of St. Honoré and St. Germain. In the Nineteenth Century, the Marais became more and more populated with industries and production, some specializing in jewelry. Under Haussmann, city planning regulations were enforced and new buildings had to be set back from the street ("alignement") in order to progressively make the old streets larger and wider. Many older buildings had not been destroyed however, thus the streets are still quite irregular.

At the turn of this century, the Jewish community moved in around la rue Rosiers. Many arrivals from Central Europe settled here, they became part of the quarter's fabric of small artisans and industrialists. But the buildings of the Marais were hardly maintained, even the beautiful houses were disfigured by the warehouses and workshops which had taken over.
In 1969, André Malraux, Minister of Culture, made the Marais a ‘protected sector’(secteur sauvegardé) by applying the Law of Protection of the Country’s Heritage ("patrimoine"). This brought about another social mutation in the quarter. The small workshops had all but disappeared, and now the middle class, the performance artists and the gay community, who brought the multicolored flags that have multiplied around rue Sainte Croix and rue de la Bretonnerie, moved into the Marais. Today the mansions of the Marais have been rediscovered, but the artistic life that once animated the area has been lost - and many deplore the quarter's new "museification." On Sundays the fashion boutiques and home decor shops bring a large crowd to the area. This is especially true of Rue Francs-Bourgeois, which has been named a Tourist Zone in order to obtain the authorization to stay open on Sundays. Some of these stores have kept the signs from the former occupants, thus there is a bakery ("boulangerie") which sells shoes!

[Tour leaving from Metro Rambuteau...]

Rue Rambuteau takes its name from the Prefect of the Seine who preceded Haussmann, between1833 et 1848: He built this road so it would cut through the old quarter- it was once the largest road in the district.

1- Rue du Temple.  # 71-75, The Avaux de St-Aignan building, is decorated with Indian heads.

Café de la Gare, 41 rue du Temple
Currently under restoration, the old Berlize Hotel is now home to the famous Train Station cafe-theater which has seen the debut of Splendid, a Tex-Mex restaurant and the School of Dance of the Marais. In the evenings around 6:00 p.m. the patchwork of music, dance steps and rhythms create an enchanting atmosphere in the courtyard.

2- Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, this is a wonderful street filled with boutiques and cafes. Farther along, at #23 rue du Roi de Sicile, is le PACTE. This organization provides advice on fixing and renovating apartments through l'OPAH of the Marais, which has been serving the public for 3 years.

Tea shop Mariage Frères

3- Rue des Blancs-Manteaux, The animation space of Blancs-Manteaux, at the head of the street, hosts expositions.
Rue vieille du Temple, #47, #54

4- Rue des Rosiers, center of the Jewish quarter in the Marais, has become the traditional Falafel stop; try l'As du Falafel or Jo Goldenberg at #15.

5- Rue Pavée

Synagogue, 10 rue Pavée
(Hector Guimard, Architect, 1913)
The synagogue was built in the art nouveau style by architect Guimard in 1913, at the time when the Jewish Ashkenazi refugees from Central Europe were settling in the district. C'est un exemple parfait de transition entre le modern-style et le style des années 20 : l'harmonie y est totale entre la rigueur d'une construction en béton armé, le dépouillement de l'ornementation, l'élégance des courbes et des contre-courbes de la façade.

Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, Historical Library of the City of Paris, 24 rue Pavée, 4st
(metro Saint-Paul) (tel. 01 44 59 29 40, from 9 :30 -6 :00p.m. daily, except Sundays and holidays)
This mansion was built in 1584 for Diane of France, the Duchess of Angouleme, legitimate daughter of Henry II. She left the letter ‘D’ on the main facade that looks onto the courtyard. The decor of arches, arrows, quivers and dog heads shows Diane's taste for hunting. The eastern facade is a rare composition : the Corinthian pilasters (with leaves) reach all the three floors. The mansion was rented, then bought in 1688 by Chrestien Francois of Lamoingnon of Malesherbes who enhanced the gardens that can be seen from Francs-Bourgeois Street. In 1718, he had a gateway built carrying the letters ‘LM’. The two lovers represent the virtues of the owner: one is holding a mirror, symbol of truth and the other a snake for prudence. Today, the Lamoignon mansion houses the historical library of the city of Paris. The contemporary extension built in 1966 hosts exhibitions.

6- Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, the hotels particuliers (grand houses) at #31 bis to 29 (the chapel at the end of the garden is an ancient tower from Philippe Auguste's Enceinte, as the rue des Francs-Bourgeois replaced the old exterior road), #30, #26

Hôtel Carnavalet, Carnavalet Mansion, #23-29, rue de Sévigné, 4st (visits www, then Agenda or Activités)
(métro Chemin-Vert, Saint-Paul) (tel. 01 42 72 21 13, from 10 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. daily, except Mondays and holidays)
The mansion is a beautiful example of Renaissance architecture. It was built in 1560 for the president of the Paris Parliament, then it was acquired by the widow of a gentleman from Brittany named ‘Carnavalet’. In the Seventeenth Century, it was sold to a financier, who hired François Mansart to oversee the enlargement of the mansion. It was then rented to Madame de Sevigné. From 1677 to 1694, the illustrious epistolary had the parlor painted because her guests included La Rouchefoucault and Madame de La Fayette among others, who were considered the cultivated minds and spirits of Paris. From Francs-Bourgeois Street, you can see the rustic gateway typical of the Renaissance era. It is carefully integrated into the posterior architecture by Mansart. The bas reliefs represent Strength and Vigilance. The city of Paris bought the house in 1866 to hold the decor of the buildings destroyed by Haussmann.

7- Place des Vosges, Vosges Square
Constructed in 1612 by Henry IV following a project of Catherine of Medicis, it was the first square in Paris to be constructed in a coherent and orderly structure. Thereafter, it became the model for other classic, geometric ‘royal squares’ with a mounted royal statue in its center.
Before the Place des Vosges was constructed, the royal residences were located on the northern side of the present square. Built in 1388 and purchased by the Crown in 1407, the Tournelle mansion was a big and beautiful property surrounded by walls and small towers from which it got its name. During a tournament in 1559 in St. Antoine Street, the king, Henry II, received a blow from the lance of the captain of his Guards. After 10 days of agony, he passed away in the Tournelles mansion. After this tragic event, his wife, Catherine of Medicis had the mansion torn down and moved into the Louvre. A large horse market took the place of the former mansion. The first ‘urbanist’ king to put his city projects to work was Henri IV. He had the King's pavilion built in 1604 to the south, followed by 35 other pavilions which were designed along the same model. ‘The King’s’ and ‘the Queen’s’ pavilions, as they were called, were constructed facing each other but were never occupied by the monarchy. The square was completed in April 1612 to celebrate the marriage of Louis XIII to Anne of Austria (and that of the king’s sister to Philippe IV of Spain). The royal square which was not yet a garden, became the center of the elegant life, a place of trade, walks and leisure, and a meeting place for duels by those who braved Richelieu’s ban. With the departure of Louis XIV for Versailles, the aristocracy left the Marais to build their mansions in the St. Germain quarter but the noblesse de robe remained faithful to the square.

Place des Vosges is in the shape of a square surrounded by 36 pavilions made of brick (or stones covered with a coating resembling brick) all built on top of arcades. The high second floor is the luxurious one. The arcades, the stone window casings and the slanted slate roofs avoid monotony. Stores open onto the vaulted galleries : antique shops, book stores and other boutiques liven up the square even today. Behind the Place are courtyards with hidden gardens. In the center of the square, Richelieu had a statue of Louis XIII mounted on horseback built in 1639. It was melted during the Revolution and replaced in 1825 by another statue in white marble. In the Nineteenth Century, a garden was installed in the Place, which the city of Paris restored in 1988. After changing names many times, the square was named ‘Place des Vosges’ (Vosges Square) in 1800 by Napoleon to thank this department for having paid its taxes first. It returned to being the Royal Square from 1815-1870.

Musée Victor-Hugo, Victor Hugo Museum, 6 place des Vosges, 4st
(métro Saint-Paul, Bastille) (tél. 01 42 72 10 16, from 10a.m.-5:40p.m. daily, except Mondays and holidays)
Victor Hugo lived here from 1832-1848. He led his somewhat mundane family, literary and political life on the third floor of the Rohan-Guemenee mansion. Given to the city of Paris in 1902, the drawings, paintings, books, objects and souvenirs are set up in chronological order. His childhood, his youth, his marriage to Adele Foucher, his exile from 1852-1870. The furniture at Vosges Square was auctioned off and redistributed, thus the museum is not a true reconstruction of the poet’s apartment. The museum displays furniture and engraved panels created by Victor Hugo while in exile. They show how his taste for decoration ran wild. When he returned from exile in 1870, he moved in with Juilette Drouet on Eulau Avenue (now called Victor Hugo Avenue, Sixteenth Arrondissement). On the first floor, the poet’s drawings are displayed. You can see the occasional cruel caricature, ‘oceanic’ and medieval architectural drawings of which he said to fellow writer Baudelaire, ‘I have finished mixing the pen with pencil, charcoal, sepia, coal, soot and all sorts of bizarre mixtures which have helped to express what I see with my eyes and my mind. I find it amusing in between two stanzas.’

[Return by the rue de Bearn...][Or continue on towards Saint-Paul and l'Hôtel de Ville, take the covered passage towards the gardens of the Hotel de Sully .... ]

8- Rue du Parc Royal : mansions (hotels particuliers) and a pleasant square L. Achille
Rue Payenne bordered by a second square, G. Cain

9- Cognacq-Jay museum, 8 rue Elzévir
(métro Saint-Paul) (tel. 01 40 27 07 21, from 10a.m. to 5:40p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays)
Dedicated to furniture and art from the Eighteenth Century, the museum was set up in 1988 in the Donon mansion. Built in 1575 for Mederic de Donon, building controller for the King, its street facade dates back to the Eighteenth Century. Founders of the Samaritaine, Ernest Cognacq and Louise Jay built an interesting collection that was willed to the city of Paris in 1929. Paintings, furniture and other objects evoke the refined atmosphere of the Eighteenth Century.

Musée de la serrurerie, Museum of Locksmiths or Bricard Museum, place de Thorigny, 1 rue de la Perle
(métro Saint-Paul) (tel. 01 42 77 79 62, from 2-5 p.m. daily except Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and the month of August)
(Libéral Bruant, Architect, 1685)
The museum is set up in an old mansion that was nicely restored. The mansion was erected in 1685 like the neighboring buildings, where Liberal Bruant lived. The building is a very different style than Les Invalides, which the architect had constructed a few years earlier. Covering the whole facade is the pierced oculus fronton, decorated with cornucopias and two amorettos. One of the stairwells is decorated with illusion paintings. The mansion was bought and restored by the Bricard company which specializes in decorative locks and iron works. The museum exhibits bronze keys, Gallo-Roman iron keys, gothic door knockers from the Middle Ages, keys and locks from the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. A locksmith’s workshop has also been reconstructed.

10- Musée Picasso, 5 rue Thorigny (www musexpo)
(métro Saint-Sébastien Froissart, Saint-Paul) (tel 01 42 71 25 21, Every day except Tuesday 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Closes at 5:30 p.m. in winter, Open Wednesday nights until 10:00 p.m.)
The Picasso Museum is housed in the Salé Mansion, constructed in 1656. The lovely mansion was built for Aubert de Fontenay, a salt tax collector, which explains the name Parisians gave to the mansion: salé in French means salted. The museum was established in 1985 thanks to a new law regarding the surrender of property in lieu of the payment of inheritance taxes. The State inherited 203 paintings, 158 sculptures and more than 3,000 drawings as a result. A second inheritance enriched the museum in 1990; Jacqueline Picasso's gave around one hundred works of contemporary artists which had belonged to Picasso. The furniture in the museum was designed by Diego Giacometti, the brother of the sculptor Alberto. Diego designed the benches, the bronze tables and chairs, and the chandeliers made of white resin. Organized in a chronological manner, the museum is in some ways a continuation of the museum in Barcelona: it begins with the blue and rose period, followed by the cubist paintings, but, above all, it exhibits the works completed before the 1920's.
A section of the Salé Mansion garden is opened to the public, accessible from rue des Coutures.

11- CARAN: The National Archives Reception Desk and Research Center, 11 rue des Quatre-Fils
(métro Rambuteau)
(Stanislas Fiszer, Architect,1988)
The completely modern building was constructed by Stanislas Fiszer in 1988 and designed to blend into the historical heart of Paris with the help of its spacing and materials. The facade assures the transition between the small, classic style houses on the left (they are low and split up) and the Nineteenth Century archives depot on the right side, (the facade stands tall and stretches a long ways). In the middle, ‘the building disappears in front of the Rohan house and takes on these same proportions’. The cornices are the same height; the facade is divided into the same 16 identical squares, ‘neutral and symmetrical surfaces’. Less obvious than the central entrance, the lateral entrance provides a view of the garden. As for the materials, the architect used the traditional Parisian stone- but plated- and added some glass and black metal.

Although this quarter was affected by Paris' increasing density in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, some of the old mansions (hotels particuliers) have survived [rue de Braque, rue Pastourelle, rue de Beauce...]

Rue des Archives (Archives Street)
12- Musée de la chasse et de la nature, Museum of Hunting and Nature, 60 rue des Archives
(metro Rambuteau) (tel. 01 42 72 86 43, from 10a.m. to 12:30 and 1:30 to 5:30p.m. daily except Tuesdays and holidays)
(François Mansart, Architect, 1655)
The museum occupies the Guenugaud des Brosses mansion which was originally built in 1655 by Mansart for the King's Savings Treasury. Its history is otherwise typical of the mansions of the Marais. In the Nineteenth Century, the house was divided into art studios. Brought to a state of complete dilapidation, it was rescued by the intervention of André Malraux, the Minister of Culture, when it was placed in the Marais' protected zone. The City of Paris bought the mansion in 1961, and classified it as a historical monument. It was rented to Francois and Jacqueline Sommer who had it restored for the House of Hunting and Nature, which opened in 1967. Today, it has a private club as well as a museum. The museum evokes hunting through hunting weapons (prehistoric weapons, crossbows and arquebuses from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, fire arms from the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries), paintings by Rembrandt, Breughel, Desportes, Monet and naturalized animal trophies, such as bears and caribou. The protection of nature is also a theme around which exhibitions are organized.
Along rue Quatre-Fils, the French style garden was recreated when the house was restored.

At 58, rue des Archives, a fortified door dressed with two (overhanging) corbel turrets reveal the vestiges of a house dating from 1375. These are the only private architectural traces of that era in Paris. Today, these are included in the National Archives.

(Incursion vers la rue du Temple...)
Musée d'art et d'histoire du judaïsme, 71 rue du Temple
(métro Rambuteau) (tel. 01 53 01 86 53, ouvert 11.00-18.00 sauf samedi, 10.00-18.00 le dimanche)
L'hôtel Saint-Aignan (17è s) vient d'être restauré pour y accueillir ce nouveau musée chargé de conserver, étudier et diffuser le patrimoine culturel du judaïsme. Il est notamment constitué de la collection du musée d'art juif et de la collection Strauss-Rothschild qui relatent l'évolution des communautés juives du Moyen-Age au 20è siècle à travers leurs arts, leur patrimoine et leurs traditions.

13- Les Archives nationales, National Archives, 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois
In 1705 the Prince of Soubise had a somber, classic and imposing palace rebuilt by Delamair. It contrasts with the interior rocaille decor, which was designed by Bouffrand. The national archives were created during the Revolution (1790) to keep track of the documents of the newly created National Assembly. Napoleon put the archives in the Soubise Palace in 1808, but they were later moved to the Rohan House and four other neighboring houses. The extension of the archives, with their 450 km of isles, brought about the CARAN structure. The Archives hold the original documents from institutions dating from the Merovingian kings up to contemporary times. Today, the Palace de Soubise houses the museum of the History of France.

Musée de l'histoire de France, Museum of the History of France, 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois
(métro Rambuteau) (tel. 01 40 27 62 18, from noon to 5:45p.m. daily except Tuesdays and holidays; from 1:45p.m. - 5:45p.m. Saturdays and Sundays)
Set up in the beautiful Soubise mansion that once housed the National Archives, the museum makes available the important historical documents of France. The exuberant baroque decor by Boffrand (dating from 1740) has been preserved in the apartments on the ground floor. When the architect Delamair built the new Soubise mansion in 1708, he integrated the Clisson (around 1375) and Guise (Sixteenth Century) mansions into it. Thus, the chapel on the second floor is in fact that from the Clisson mansion. The old guard rooms from the Guise house display the important historical documents of France dating from the Merovingian kings to the Second World War, such as the memoirs of Colbert, the wills of Louis XIV and Napoleon, and a letter from Voltaire on the Calas case. Among the important historical acts shown in the museum are the Edict of Nantes, the Westphalia Treaty (whereby France repurchased Alsace in 1648), and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Other texts give testimony to economic and social history: tolls for crossing the Seine, the Nineteenth Century law on child labor and the 1936 law on paid vacations.

The courtship room of the princess of Soubise and the oval room have been recently restored. The magnificent rocaille decoration was done by Boffrand in 1735 ; the paintings are mostly the works of Boucher and Tremolieres. The bedroom of the Princess which is dedicated to the French Revolution displays many documents : the ‘serment de jeu de paume’ (the oath of the Assembly to vote for a constitution), the last letters of Marie-Antoinette and Charlotte Corday. Also on display are newspapers, signs, caricatures, songs and long texts dealing with administrative organization such as the creation of the departments, and the metric system...

The Culture Minister's website provides further information on the archives.

Hôtel de Rohan, Rohan House,   87 rue Vieille-du-Temple
(from noon to 6p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays)
The Rohan house was built for one of the sons of the Prince of Soubise. Richly endowed with a monumental, classic facade with colonnades and pilasters, it is now the Central Register of the Notary Minutes of Paris. The old stables located to the right of the courtyard are decorated with a bas relief by Robert Le Lorrain, ‘the sun horses.' The inside of the house is well conserved, especially the stairwell and the monkey cabinets. This wood interior from 1750 is evidence of the eroticism and voyages that were the fashion of the day. The mansion often hosts traveling exhibitions.

At # 40, rue des Archives, the former house of Jacques Coeur's daughter has become a nursery school. 

Cloître des Billettes, Cloisters of Billettes, 22-26 rue des Archives, 4st
This is the only medieval cloister existing in Paris. Dating from 1427 and decorated with flamboyant vaults, it originates from a Thirteenth Century Monastery (the brothers of the Notre-Dame Charity were called "Billettes," then "Carmites.") Housing collections of Art, it is open to passerby's. Next door, the convent's church was reconstructed many times. Dating from 1756, the present building was used by an evangelical cult in 1812.

Around Arts et Métiers

(Start from métro Réaumur Sébastopol...)

Magasin Félix Potin, #51 rue Réaumur
At the corner of Reaumur Street and the Sebastopol Boulevard, this opulent store is proof of the prosperity at the turn of the century. It closed its doors in 1996 and is now a Monoprix store. Built in 1910, the large dome is quite typical of the bourgeois buildings from this era. The big store is noticeable by its decorated facade of profuse colors and bees which symbolize business and abundance.

Station de métro Arts et Métiers, The Arts and Professions Metro Station
The station on line 11 was completely redone by Francois Schuiten. This Belgian artist was inspired by the technological universe from the National Center of Arts and Professions (CNAM) and its museum. He drew a copper vault and a big mechanism for the ceiling. The brass domes display models from the CNAM, such as the first airship...

14- Musée des Arts et Métiers, Museum of Arts and Professions, access through 60 rue Réaumur, 292 rue Saint-Martin (www of museum, www of the CNAM)
(métro Arts et métiers) (tel. 01 40 27 23 31 ou 01 40 27 22 20)
The museum occupies the former Abbey of St. Martin des Champs, built in the Eighteenth Century. The Abbey was transformed into a Conservatory of Arts and Professions in 1789, after it was denied its religious function during the Revolution. The museum of Techniques was open to the public in 1802 thanks to Jacques Vaucanson who had given automation objects and the belongings of the emigrants confiscated during the Revolution to the King. The museum is now being completely reorganized, and will reopen in 1999. 8,000 objects illustrate the history of techniques and innovations from the Sixteenth Century through today : automation, machines, tools, test rooms, discoveries in chemistry (the echo room), energy, astronomy, meteorology and mathematics (calculating machines), telecommunications, physics and optic labs In the old church of St. Martin des Champs you will find suspended planes and a locomotive by Stephenson.

Eglise Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs, St-Nicolas-des-Champs Church, 254 rue Saint-Martin
(tél.  01 42 72 92 54, open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, except Sundays, 9 :30 to noon. July and August from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
The Church's history is typical of most in Paris. The first chapel was erected by a parish in the Twelfth Century. From the gothic reconstruction in the Fifteenth Century the church got its facade, bell tower and part of the church. In the Sixteenth Century, the nave and the border of chapels were elongated and a southern door was built. The milieu of the Eighteenth Century marked the return of antique shapes : the columns of the choir were fluted and topped with wavy, ionic capitals and the stained glass windows were replace by clear glass. The Revolution closed the church and turned it into a temple of marriage and fidelity. It was given to a cult in 1802 and reestablished by the Restoration. The construction of Turbigo Street in 1854 provides a view of the southern and eastern facades.

15- Marché des Enfants-Rouges, Market of the Red Children, entre la rue des Oiseaux et la rue de Bretagne
The oldest of the 13 covered markets in Paris is located between the rue des Oiseaux and the rue de Bretagne. Named after the pensioners of an old orphanage who dressed in red cloths, the market was the object of a dispute in 1994-5. Some of the inhabitants were opposed to its demolition, which would have made room for a parking garage, a market and a day care center. The new socialist Mayor, Pierre Aidenbaum, promised to conserve the old market.

Carreau du Temple, surrounded by the streets Eugène-Spuller, Dupetit-Thouars, Picardie, Perrée, square du Temple
The Templar had a monastery built at the end of the Twelfth Century from the spoils of the Crusades. The roads rue du Temple (Temple Street) and rue Vielle-du-Temple (Old Temple Street) lead to the monastery. After the suppression of the Templars in 1311, the riches of the Temple were transferred to the "Hospitaliers," notably the Parisian monastery. The temple was enhanced by a thick walled tower, then a palace for the grand prayer in 1567. The enclosed area was for those with the right of asylum; numerous artisans (and money borrowers....) stayed there. Used as a prison for the Royal Family during the Revolution, the tower was destroyed in 1811. The prayer room became a religious house before its destruction in 1853, and was then transformed into a square in 1857. The enclosure became a clothes market, set up in a rotunda in 1781.

Starting in 1809, four new wood pavilions sold lace, silks, cottons, used clothes (in the Pavilion of Flying Lice) and old leathers. Small commerce also moved in, which had been installed next to the Market of the Innocents. Considered unhygenic, in 1863 the pavilions were replaced by iron and glass structures, which still exist in part today. They were built by Merindol in the style of Baltard. The Square met its end at the turn of the century, in part from the competition of the new Saint-Ouen flea market. The four principal pavilions located along the rue du Temple were destroyed. When the municipality wanted to condemn the two remaining pavilions in 1973, the local inhabitants and business people mobilized and forced the city to rescind its plan. The inferior section was once made of red and yellow bricks. The stone casings around the lateral entrances are vestiges of the ancient rotonda.

Advertising cyber-café

Associations of the 3rd Arrondissement

Mayor
Pierre Aidenbaum, 2 rue Eugène Spuller, 75 141 Paris cedex 3, métro République, tel. 01 42 74 20 03

Statistical Table of the 3rd

Internet sites of the 3rd Arrondissement