Please Draw Me Le Marais
If Paris is a moveable feast, the Marais is certainly the heart of it! A multifaceted heart, lively and invigorating, which nevertheless has not always been as important as it is today. Once a swamp on the outskirts of Paris, Le Marais did not integrate the city until the Middle Ages, to finally become its nerve center. Split between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, and now an essential trendy district, popular for both visitors and Parisians themselves, Le Marais keeps much more than one secret in its sleeve, which we will reveal to you during an urban exploration that is as informative as it is surprising!
If many consider it today as a must-see in any visit to Paris, the Marais district was in the early 20th century no less than a real no-go zone! Rarely though have splendor and poverty been so close in one district. From the first swamps cultivated by religious communities to the hippest designer boutiques of today, this cosmopolitan and essential district walks on with the pockets full of History and the walls full of historical monuments. Every step made here between the different communities that enrich the district –Jewish communities, LGBT, the small world of contemporary art…– and the various architectures that color it –from medieval stones to rare incursions of contemporary architecture, and the thousands of refined façadees of the 17th and 18th cent.– reminds us that just like Rome, Paris wasn’t built in a day!
Follow us on a walking tour of this former royal district, through hidden square and picturesque alleys. We will tell you the story of this amazing Old Paris that sometimes looks like a charming small village, and where parks hide to better surprise, and the making of history has actually never stopped. During this guided tour from the elegant Place des Vosges to the romantic Square du Temple, we will bring back the memories of remarkable figures of French history, like the Duke of Sully, André Malraux and Madame de Sevigné, but also of some that history forgot, just like the young Count of Montgommery, who unintentionally opened the door to one of the most important urban operations of the Marais!
A unique guided walk of the main lines of French history, but also of its captivating extras, between ravishing splendors and astonishing anecdotes. Essential, we tell you!
Highlights of your guided tour:
– Follow the evolution of Le Marais from the first plans of Henri 4th, Paris’ first urban planner;
– Let yourself surprise by the small hidden gardens, peaceful hideaways in this lively district;
– Discover the industrial past of Le Marais and how this silent revolution has changed the district;
– Meet the many celebrities who gave Le Marais its timeless history, from the Queen Margot to Victor Hugo!
Price
– Public Guided Tours: 17€ / pax.
– Privatisation: 200€ from 1 to 10 pax / 250€ from 11 to 15 pax
TheWaysBeyond is a signatory to the Caring Attitude charter of the Paris Tourist Office.In this sense, the guided walking tour “Essential Marais, the very heart of Paris” complies with current health and safety instructions, with the guide wearing a face mask and respecting physical distancing practices and other government-recommended preventive measures.Participants are asked to please wear a mask and respect physical distancing practices when walking together on the tour.