Le Marais and Place des Vosges on Foot

What it is

The Marais is the Right Bank district, between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, which preserves the Paris from before the great avenues. It was a marshy area, drained from the 12th century, and in the 17th it filled with aristocratic mansions: the hôtels particuliers, with a courtyard in front and a garden behind. Haussmann's works barely touched it, and in 1964 it became the first protected sector in France, under the Malraux law. The walk, of about two hours, is self-guided and free.

Place des Vosges

It is the centre of the walk. It was built between 1605 and 1612 on the orders of Henri IV, who did not live to see it finished, and was inaugurated with a tournament for the betrothal of Louis XIII to Anne of Austria. It was called place Royale until 1800, when it took the name of the Vosges department, the first to pay its taxes during the Revolution.

It measures about 140 metres a side and is enclosed by 36 brick-and-stone pavilions over arcades. The two tallest face each other: the King's pavilion, in the middle of the south side, and the Queen's, in the north. In the middle, the square Louis-XIII, with four fountains and an equestrian statue of the king from 1825, is the garden where locals sit in the shade of the trees.

Victor Hugo lived at number 6 from 1832 to 1848. His flat is now the Maison de Victor Hugo, a museum of the city of Paris.

The route, step by step

1. Saint-Paul. Start on rue Saint-Antoine, at the level of the church of Saint-Paul.
2. Hôtel de Sully. A 17th-century mansion with two courtyards. From the rear garden, a passage takes you directly to place des Vosges.
3. Place des Vosges. Walk round under the arcades and rest in the garden.
4. Rue des Francs-Bourgeois and Carnavalet. To the west, rue des Francs-Bourgeois is the district's shopping street. On rue de Sévigné is the Carnavalet museum, devoted to the history of Paris, in two mansions of the 16th and 17th centuries; it reopened in 2021 after five years of works.
5. Musée Picasso. A little to the north, the hôtel Salé houses the Picasso museum.
6. Rue des Rosiers. Head back south through the Pletzl, the Jewish quarter that grew here from the late 19th century. It is the street for something to eat on the go. Nearby, on rue du Temple, is the museum of Jewish art and history.
7. Hôtel de Soubise. If you have energy left, continue to the mansion that now houses part of the National Archives.

Museums

Carnavalet and the Maison de Victor Hugo are municipal museums run by Paris Musées; the Picasso museum is national. Hours, closing days and prices vary by museum and exhibition: check their websites before going. On 12 November 2026 the Paris Musées websites were under maintenance; ticket sales continued on their online ticket office.

When to go

On weekday mornings the district is quiet. On weekend afternoons, rue des Francs-Bourgeois and rue des Rosiers fill up. In spring and summer, the garden at place des Vosges is the place to eat outdoors.

Getting there

By metro, line 1 to Saint-Paul, or to Bastille, a few minutes from place des Vosges. From the Île de la Cité you can walk, crossing the Seine by the Pont d'Arcole or the Pont Louis-Philippe.

Where to eat and sleep

For a galette, Breizh Café Le Marais is right in the district. If you want to sleep here, there is everything from the MIJE Marais hostel and the Hôtel Jeanne d'Arc Le Marais to Le Pavillon de la Reine, on place des Vosges itself.

With children

The walk is flat and can be done with a pushchair. The arcades and the garden at place des Vosges, with its fountains, let you stop halfway. In the narrow streets of rue des Rosiers, with lots of people, it is better to hold hands.