A Walk through the Marais

Yesterday, I went on a guided tour through Le Marais with Marin. Her husband works with Matt and they're also here for the year from Chicago. We found a great tour company called, "Paris Walks". The company has American and British tour guides that offer a large variety of walks (including a chocolate tasting walk!) throughout Paris. We decided to give them a try this week for a two hour guided walk. Our guide happened to be a famous historian, Peter Caine, and author of the book, "Paris Then and Now".

Le Marais is spread across the 4th and part of the 3rd arrondissements in Paris. In the 12th century it was a marshland, but by the 1600's the aristocracy moved in and changed the feel of the Marais. We started from the St. Paul metro stop. The walk guided us first by Place des Vosges - the oldest square in Paris that is surrounded by 36 identical homes. It was built for the aristocracy by King Henry IV built in 1605. We also saw the oldest house in Paris (from the 14th century), Hotel de Sully (picture below), the Holocaust Memorial, and St. Gervais and St. Protais church. The church is a small church (compared to the larger ones in Paris). It was built in the 4th century and was bombed during World War I by the Germans. The two hour walk flew by but was really informative and interesting.

After the walk, Marin and I stopped for a quick lunch at L'As du Falafel. It's a famous falafel restaurant in the heart of the Marais that makes everyone's favorites list. We both ordered the Falafel special and ate inside as the crowds of locals and tourists shuffled in and out.

The walking tour was really a lot of fun and not too expensive. You can learn a little more detail than most of the guidebooks present as they are just designed for the quick fly-by of all the sites. We're planning to go on some other walks such as St. Germain, the Catacombs, the old city and others. I'm saving the Chocolate tour for when Matt's dad comes to. He can't wait to try all the chocolates in Paris!