Top Places to Visit in Le Marais, Paris

Le Marais Paris has been in the limelight for more than 20 years now, and it has magnificently transformed from a swamp into an upscale locality where Parisians are now peacefully settled. What also sets Le Marais apart from other parts of Paris is its architecture which is different from the rest of the city, having been mostly renovated and developed in the last couple of decades.

Apart from strolling on the streets and relaxing in the affable neighborhood environment, there are numerous places of interest to visit in Le Marais also, as in any other place in Paris. This place is full of interesting places to visit, which can cater to the needs of tourists of all tastes, habits, and peculiarities. Here we try to list out the places which are worth visiting when you stay here in this exquisite neighborhood of Paris.

If you are an ardent museum enthusiast, whether escaping the summer heat or winter cold, you can indulge in your classic vacation activity by paying a visit to the numerous Paris Museums. Paris has astounding130 museums and is home to some of the most iconic art galleries which have some of the best and most famous art pieces from contemporary works to those dating back to thousands of years. Museums in Paris attract artists and art lovers in millions every year, especially during art exhibitions and special displays. If you are very passionate about art galleries and museums and very keen on visiting them around the world, then Paris, being the unchallenged capital of art museums, is the place to tour. While visiting Paris, you will be spoilt for choices due to the abundance of such places available to visitors in a single city anywhere on the planet. However, here we list out only a few of such museums located in Le Marais Paris

Musee Picasso was founded in 1974 after the death of the master painter with the thousands of paintings he and his family so generously bequeathed to the state after his death. This is another one in our list of must-visit museums in Paris, and you will thoroughly appreciate the reason behind the great painter’s fame before coming out of the museum. Around 5000 of Pablo Picasso’s works and many more of the archived pieces are part of the huge inventory of this museum which is housed in a private mansion. Some of the masterpieces on display include Self-portrait, La Celestina, Man with Guitar and Memento Mori. This museum is closed on Mondays. The tickets are priced at Euro 11 and 14, and you can have an audio guide at Euro 5.

This is Henault de Cantobre, a magnificent 18th-century private mansion converted into a museum. The brief history of the museum dates back to 1979 when the Paris audiovisual association was founded by a few passionate individuals during the international Biennale of the Month of Photography. The European house of photography was inaugurated in the present building in 1996 after the initial venue proved too small for holding events. The Maison Europeene de la Photographie regularly hosts exhibitions on the themes, movements and biggest artists in photography. These exhibitions showcase all the artists of the world during the second half of the 20^th century. The aim of this noble project is to promote photographic artists all over the world, especially in contemporary photography. This has the best photography exhibition space in Paris and regularly hosts retrospectives by Larry Clark and Martine Barrat, along with works of emerging photographers. The Mansion has a wonderful range of permanent collection of around 20,000 works, apart from organizing temporary exhibitions.

The mansion Maison de Victor Hugo converted to a museum is situated in the heart of Le Marais Paris where the famous French writer lived while writing many of his most famous books, including the Les Miserables. You can go through the three stages of his life, before, during, and after his exile through some exquisitely arranged furniture, souvenirs, and interior designing while taking a tour of this mansion. The first floor of the mansion hosts his drawings and literary works. The museum also organizes workshops on his works for children. The collections here include his literary works, decorative arts, drawings, sculptures, illustrations, objects, furniture, decor, and paintings. Victor Hugo influenced many illustrators, sculptors, painters, and other artists to create these arts for his stage plays, literary works, as well as costumes and stage settings for his theatre plays, some of them done by his close friends. All such works are painstakingly collected and assembled here in this mansion. Most of his successful novels had their illustrative editions produced later on, and his drawings similarly popularised with photographs. Hundreds of such reproductions are here amongst the collections. Everything is so wonderfully arranged in such a way as to take you through the great man’s life, evoking his furniture, objects, art-works that were either created by him or belonged to him.

This vast garden Place des Vosges is the oldest planned square in Paris. This garden is also famous for having many lovely buildings, restaurants, cafes, galleries in its immediate vicinity, with Maison de Victor Hugo being one such museum. The garden square has plenty of greenery with rows of trees lining it along with four beautiful large fountains and a bronze statue of Louis XIII. During hot summers you can watch heat-struck Parisians enjoying spraying water near the fountains. You can take a stroll in the garden, have a relaxing drink and even make a visit to the Maison de Victor Hugo in a matter of a few hours. This place lies between the 3^rd and 4th 4th arrondissement and was opened in the year 1605. The place was originally called Place Royale and was renamed after the French revolution as a tribute to the Vosges which was the first region to pay taxes to the new government. It showcases the 17th-century French architecture. The entrance to this garden is free.

This is a 4,000 m² garden built as a tribute to the courageous woman Anne Frank who was a victim of Nazi barbarism during the holocaust. The lovely garden has a central plot where once stood a chestnut tree which was admired by Anne Frank while she was here. Anne Frank started to write her diary at the age of thirteen when the family was here before moving on to Amsterdam, where they stayed in hiding before the Germans found them. She had written in the diary which was later published that she was admiring and watching this big tree daily through her window. That tree became a hugely symbolic object and was preserved for 150 years till it toppled in 2010. The present tree is a sampling planted in 2007 near that original tree. The garden now has a small vegetable section, a pergola, bushes, plants, and flowers. It also has a children’s play area and benches where you can sit and relax in the serene surroundings. The garden has no entrance fee.

Le Marais Paris has a few streets where you can indulge in a shopping spree having come to the city of love and one of the fashion capitals of the world. This neighborhood of Paris is extremely trendy and is an exquisite fashion center within Paris, and if you are a fashion enthusiast, this is the right place for shopping till you drop. A couple of shopping streets in Le Marais Paris which might suit your needs are listed below.

This is a trendy area and a long shopping street in Le Marais Paris. Rue des Francs-Bourgeois is a popular tourist shopping area, not least because it doesn’t follow the general French practice of a Sunday closure. You can find many high-end stores and brands here on this street. Zadig & Voltaire is one of the most popular shops and is famous for its cashmere sweaters. They offer delicate textiles with casual rocker looks which are a trend. Maje is another one which sells comfy and trendy dresses for women. This has such a large collection that you will never go disappointed. Sandro, Maje’s big sister, is a shop for sophisticated women. It has it's brand very different from others. Antoine & Lili sells dresses with a unique design inspired by the trends in India, Africa, South America, and elsewhere. Karen Millen sells high-end, glamorous and modern clothes for highly sophisticated women.

This is a jewel in the heart of Le Marais Paris with a wide choice of high-end fashion shops to woo the tourists. The choices generally reflect the latest Parisians fashion style. Some of the most famous shops here are listed below.

Les Petites is a well-known shop which offers a unique collection of simple, relaxed modern styles adapted from the designs of the 50s and 60s. French Trotters offers its big collection of hip clothing, accessories, and home goods in a two-storied building. Karl Lagerfeld offers a mix of his own designer clothing apart from other items. Hipanema offers jewelry with a Brazilian touch. Soi Paris is a boutique offering wrap-around dresses.

Apart from these two, there are a few more shopping streets in this wonderful neighborhood where you can combine gourmet food, wine with shopping to spend some relaxing time.

1. L’As du Falafel

It is a simple middle-eastern eatery that offers Israeli cuisine like falafel, shawarma, and kebabs so tasty that lines during lunch-time stretch up to 500 meters. Falafel bread here in this Jewish neighborhood joint is so good that you wouldn’t want to miss out this place. The sandwich contains super-crisp chickpea, creamy hummus, red cabbage, cucumbers, harissa and other ingredients piled onto a pita-bread in sufficient quantities that you might feel excited while relishing it. It offers a wide range of other food choices to satisfy your palate.

2. Florence Kahn

The Florence Kahn Bakery is located right in the heart of Le Marais Paris and is very popular here. It is recognized as a historical monument of Paris, and the lovely building dates back to 1932. You can have your food comfortably seated inside. It offers a variety of items like falafel bread, pastry, and several assorted specialties. It is extremely popular among the locals as it is an eatery with a variety of food and one can have in peace sitting inside or even outdoor, a bakery and also a catering company.

This is one of the top favorite hangouts for the locals and is in the list of top 100 bars in Le Marais Paris for a long time. It is located a short distance from the Arts et Metiers metro station. The Mazouz brothers who started this bar are running many bars successfully in other parts of Paris. It is a bar based on the pop art theme of Andy Warhol. Wahloo in Arabic means I have nothing. The interiors are themed on the 1970s Moroccan homes, and it has resulted in a very pleasant ambiance. Evening times are guaranteed to be very memorable with good entertainment. Mornings servings include Moroccan tea and dishes of tapas-style. Andy Wahloo is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Sherry Butt is a New York City inspired bar with dimly lit interiors and located in a quiet street in Le Marais Paris neighborhood. Sherry Butt is in the list of 50 best bars in the world. It is essentially a cocktail bar which has become quite a hit as the cocktails mixed by professionals are very popular here. This bar is open to the public only after 8:00 PM. Drinks are arranged on a blackboard behind the bar which makes it easy to read from a distance. The menu has some quality dishes on offer along with drinks. It is named after a large barrel that ages whiskey. This bar is a favorite among whiskey enthusiasts.

You can find the hip crowd and different communities like the Jewish, Chinese, LGBT, and others everywhere in this extremely loveable and peaceful neighborhood. The Jewish quarter’s most famous street is Rue des Rosiers where you find high-end fashion shops and also restaurants serving gourmet food specializing in the yummy Jewish and Mediterranean cuisines. In case you are interested, some guided-walk tours are also available to take you around Le Marais Paris, guiding you through the different interesting areas of the neighborhood for a cheerful experience.