Paris The Marais

There's more to see in the Marais than strutting fashionistas and strolling rabbis. A unique mix of historic and new, the area boasts an impressive list of quirky and worthwhile sights. The eastern section of the arrondissement harbors a labyrinth of old, quaint streets, a smattering of churches, and some of Paris's most beautiful hôtels particuliers, or mansions (particularly around the Place des Vosges). The Centre Pompidou, the undisputed main attraction of the Marais, breaks up the beige monotony in the western part of the arrondissement. Though the Pompidou, quite like a spoiled child, tends to attract the most attention, there are a number of other museums that are less touristy and just as entertaining. The underrated Musée Carnavalet visually portrays the history of Paris, while the Musée de la Chasse tells the story of the animals that died here. Even if you aren't the museum-going type, Vieille du Temple and Rue des Rosiers are great streets to explore.

• Centre Pompidou, Pl. Georges-Pompidou, rue Beaubourg (☎01 44 78 12 33; www.centrepompidou.fr), The Musée National d'Art Moderne is the Centre Pompidou's main attraction. While its collection spans the 20th century, the art from the last 50 years is particularly brilliant. It features everything from Philip Guston's uncomfortably adorable hooded figures to Eva Hesse's uncomfortably anthropomorphic sculptures. Those looking for a less provokative experience will want to see Cai Guo-Qang's Bon Voyage, an airplane made of wicker and vine hanging from the ceiling and studded with objects confiscated from passengers' carry-on luggage at the Tokyo airport. A large part of its contemporary display is now devoted to work by women artists in a much-needed exhbition called elles@centrepompidou. On the museum's second level, early 20th-century heavyweights like Duchamp and Picasso hold court. Most of the works were contributed by the artists themselves or by their estates; Joan Miró and Wassily Kandinsky's wife are among the museum's founders. Rambuteau or Hôtel de Ville. RER Châtelet-Les Halles. Library and Forum free. Museum admission to permanent collection and exhibits €12, under 26 €9, under 18 and EU Citizens under 25 free. First Su of month free for all visitors. Visitors' guides available in bookshop. Centre open M and W-Su 11am-10pm. Museum open M, W, and F-Su 11am-9pm, Th 11am-11pm. Last ticket sales 1 hr. before close. Library open M and W-F noon-10pm, Sa-Su 11am-10pm. Takes credit cards. Has internet.
• Maison de Victor Hugo, 6 pl. des Vosges (☎01 42 72 10 16; www.musée-hugo.paris.fr), Dedicated to the father of the French Romantics and housed in the building where he lived from 1832 to 1848, the museum displays Hugo memorabilia, including little-known paintings by his family and the desk where he wrote standing up. On the first floor, one room is devoted to paintings of scenes from Les Misérables, another to Notre Dame de Paris, and a third to other featured plays and works. Upstairs are Hugo's apartments, a recreation of the bedroom where Hugo died, and the chambre chinoise, which reveals Hugo's flamboyant interior decorating skills and just how much of a romantic he was. Chemin Vert, St.Paul or Bastille. Credit card min. €15. Permanent collection free, special exhibits around €7-8, seniors €5, under 26 €3.50-4. Audio tour €5. Open Tu-Su 10am-6pm, last entry 5:40pm. Takes credit cards. Wheelchair access.
• Igor Stravinsky Fountain, pl. Igor Stravinsky This novel installation features irreverent and multichromatic mobile sculptures by Niki de St. Phalle and Jean Tinguely. The whimsical elephants, lips, mermaids, and bowler hats are inspired by Stravinsky's works, and have been known to squirt water at unsuspecting bystanders. While the fountain's colorful quirkiness is in keeping with the Centre Pompidou, it stands in contrast to the nearby historic rue Brisemiche and Église de St-Merri. Hôtel de Ville. Adjacent to the Centre Pompidou on rue de Renard.
• Musée Carnavalet, 23 rue de Sévigné (☎01 44 59 58 58; www.carnavalet.paris.fr), Housed in Mme. de Sévigné's beautiful 16th-century hôtel particulier and the neighboring Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, this meticulously arranged museum traces Paris's history from its origins to the present. The chronologically-themed rooms follows the city's evolution from Caesar's Roman conquest to Mitterrand's Grands Projets. The museum goes to great lengths to avoid didacticism—the city's urban development is conveyed through paintings, artifacts, and historical reconstructions rather than a tiresome timeline with a few grainy photographs. Highlights include Proust's fully reconstructed bedroom, a piece of the Bastille prison wall, and Sévigné's interior decor itself. The Wendel Ballroom, painted by Jose-Maria Sert, and the Charles Le Brun ceilings in rooms 19 and 20 are also worth the trip. Of course, Madame didn't neglect the exterior of her opulent abode; the courtyard gardens feature symmetrically designed bushes and bright pink Takes credit cards.
• Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, 62 rue des Archives (☎01 48 87 40 36; www.chassenature.org), The collection may be quirky, but it's one of the few in Paris that is sure to elicit some sort of response—whether that be fascination or disgust. Housed in the Hôtel de Guénégaud, the only private mansion built by François Mansart that still exists, the recently opened Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature displays hunting-themed art, weaponry, and stuffed animals from Africa, America, and Asia. It's dead animals from start to finish—a giant polar bear, a ceiling covered with owl heads, a snappy fox, antler-shaped chandeliers—all elegantly arranged in lavish rooms. The Trophy Room is an impressive arrangement of deceased beasts--lions, cheetahs, bison, a rhino—while the Salle des Armes tells the story of how they were shot. Animal-rights activists and pet lovers would be wise to avoid, though the museum does manage to create an aesthetic experience. The multimedia exhibit on the myth of the unicorn is especially noteworthy, as is the interactive display of bird calls.
• Places Des Vosges, Today, the park is constantly full of frolicking families, cutesy couples, and snooty French teenagers. All 36 of the buildings lining the square were constructed by Baptiste de Cerceau in the same architectural style; look for the pink brick, slate-covered roofs, and street level arcades. The largest of these townhouses, which forms the square's main entrance, was the king's pavilion; opposite is the smaller pavilion of the queen. Originally intended for merchants, the Place Royale was a historic home of the city's nobility, including Madame de Sevigné (who was born at no. 1bis) and Cardinal Richelieu (who lived at no. 21 when he wasn't busy mad-dogging musketeers). In the 18th century, Molière, Racine, and Voltaire filled the grand parlors with their bons mots, and Mozart played a concert here at the age of seven. The arcades around the perimeter of pl. des Vosges
• Fait and Cause, 58 rue Quincampoix (☎01 42 74 26 36; www.sophot.com), Dedicated to increasing humanist and humanitarian consciousness through documentary photography and other media, this gallery draws large crowds with its award-winning exhibits. Past featured artists have included Jacob Riis, Jane Evelyn Atwood, and Robert Doisneau.
• La Maison Européene de la Photographie, 5-7 rue de Fourcy (☎01 44 78 75 00; www.mep-fr.org), Contrary to what most Facebook profile pictures suggest, photographic display is an artform. Located in the Hôtel Hénault de Cantobre, La Maison hosts both works from its permanent collection and temporary exhibits featuring international and contemporary photography. The Hôtel also houses rotating galleries, an excellent library, and a vidéothèque with almost 900 films by photographers. Open W-Su 11am-8pm. Last entry 7:30pm. Takes credit cards. Wheelchair access.
• Musée Cognacq-Jay, 8 rue Elzévir (☎01 40 27 07 21; cognacq-jay.paris.fr), Like many of the excessively rich, department store founder Ernest Cognacq and his energetic wife Marie-Louise Jay were prolific philanthropists and collectors. Upon their deaths, they generously bequeathed the bulk of their fortune to the city of Paris to fund the construction of the quiet Musée Cognacq-Jay, which now displays mostly 18th-century art. The museum is housed in the 16th-century Hôtel Donon, a work of art in and of itself that is notable for the austere purity of its lines, exemplified by its lack of external sculpted decoration. The museum's five floors house Enlightenment art and furniture, including minor works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Greuze, La Tour, and Fragonard. The house also features interior designs by Natoire, Van Loo, and Boucher as well as a bucolic collection of German porcelain sculpture.
• Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme, 71 rue de Temple (☎01 53 01 86 60; www.mahj.org), Housed in the grand Hôtel de St-Aignan—once a tenement for Jews fleeing Eastern Europe—this museum displays a history of Jews in Europe and North Africa with a focus on communal traditions throughout the Diaspora; expect to learn a lot about Hanukkah and circumcision. Modern testimonials on Jewish identity are interspersed with exquisite ancient relics. Highlights include a number of Chagall and Modigliani paintings, Lissitzky lithographs, and art collections looted by the Nazis from Jewish homes. There is also a notable selection of letters and articles concerning Captain Alfred Dreyfus, the French Jew accused of treason and espionage in the greatest socio-political controversy of the late 19th century. Takes credit cards. Wheelchair access.
• 17 rue Beautreillis, Jim Morrison perished here, in his bathtub, on the third floor, (allegedly) when his heart stopped. There is no commemorative plaque, and today the building houses a massage parlor. His grave at the Cimetière Père Lachaise is a better memorial.
• Rue des Rosiers, The pulsing heart of the Jewish community of the Marais, rue des Rosiers is packed with kosher shops, bucheries, bakeries, and falafel counters. Until the 13th century, Paris's Jewish population lived around Notre Dame, but when Philippe-Auguste expelled them from the city limits, many families moved to the Marais. During WWII, many who had fled to France to escape the pogroms of Eastern Europe were murdered by the Nazis. Assisted by French police, Nazi soldiers stormed the Marais and hauled Jewish families to the Vélodrome d'Hiver, an indoor cycling stadium. Here, French Jews awaited deportation to work camps like Drancy, in a northeastern suburb of Paris, or to camps farther east in Poland and Germany. The Mémorial de la Déportation commemorates these victims. In the 1960s, new waves of North African Sephardim Jews fleeing Algeria moved into the area. Today, the Marais's Jewish community is thriving and sports two synagogues (at 25 rue des R
• Rue Vieille du Temple and rue Ste-Croix de la Brettonerie, The intersection of rue Vieille du Temple and rue Ste-Croix de la Brettonerie is always hot. The epicenter of Paris's thriving GLBT community, these streets boast beautiful boys in tight pants and super-stylish girls who can't have them. The crowd here consists of variations on fabulous. Dashing intellectuals frequent La Belle Hortense, a wine bar on the corner; loving couples share gelato at Amorino; trendy and aloof students hang out at the local bars; and women batting for all teams come for some of the best shopping in the city. Especially on weekends, this is the place to see (and be seen in) an outfit from one of the many surrounding boutiques.
• Musée de la Poupée, Impasse Berthaud (☎01 42 72 73 11; www.museedelapoupeeparis.com), This small museum, nestled in a cul-de-sac, is the ultimate fantasy fulfillment for those who still play with Ken and Barbie on occasion. The first rooms are devoted to a permanent collection of dolls from 1805 to the present, while the rest of the museum hosts more specialized exhibits such as “Baby Boom” and “Dream with Barbie.” The museum also hosts special events, including puppet shows (W 2:30pm; €7-11), appraisals of antique dolls (W 11am; €12), and “torch visits” in the dark (1 Th per month; €10). Kids will probably like it, though grown-ups may find it creepy. The attached shop sells antique dolls and performs restorations. Does not take credit cards.
• Hôtel de Sully, 62 rue St-Antoine (☎01 44 61 20 00), Built in 1624, the Hôtel de Sully was commissioned by the Duc de Sully, minister to Henri IV and king of sass. Often cuckolded by his young wife, Sully would say when giving her money, “Voici tant pour la maison, tant pour vous, et tant pour vos amants” (“Here's some for the house, some for you, and some for your lovers”). The classical composition of the building is adorned with elaborate sculpted decoration representing the elements and the seasons. The inner courtyard accommodates fatigued tourists with benches, shade, and a formal garden. The building houses both an annex of the Musée de Jeu de Paume and the Centre d'Information des Monuments Nationaux, which distributes free maps and brochures on Paris monuments and museums. The back garden contains an entrance into the pl. des Vosges.
• Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, 76 rue Turenne and 10 impasse St-Claude (☎01 42 16 79 79; www.galerieperrotin.com), A celebrated visionary in the art world, Perrotin first made waves with his “ambitious” Miami gallery. Situated in a courtyard building once occupied by the directors of the Bastille prison, the Miami gallery's Parisian counterpart features artists from around the world and displays everything from installation art to sculpture. The collection is big enough to be a small museum. Takes credit cards.
• Galerie Thullier, 13 rue de Thorigny (☎01 42 77 33 24; www.galeriethuillier.com), Despite being one of the city's most active galleries—over 1500 pieces of art are featured here each year at 21 annual expositions across two sizable shop fronts—Galerie Thullier still manages to feel intimate. The gallery thrives commercially by displaying a variety of media and styles as well as both temporary and permanent artists. Takes credit cards.
• Hôtel de Sens, 1 Rue du Figuier (☎01 42 78 14 60), One of the city's few surviving examples of medieval residential architecture, the Hôtel de Sens was built in 1474 for Tristan de Salazar, the Archbishop of Sens. Its military features are indicative of the violence of the era: the turrets were designed to survey the streets outside, and the square tower served as a dungeon. An enormous arched and Gothic entrance—complete with chutes for pouring boiling water on invaders—makes the mansion all the more intimidating. While enemies found it hard to penetrate the hôtel, lovers had an easier time. As the former residence of Henri IV's first wife Marguerite de Valois, infamously known as Queen Margot, the Hôtel de Sens has witnessed some of Paris's most scandalous romantic escapades. In 1606, the 55-year-old queen drove up to the door of her home and witnessed her two current lovers arguing out front. One reached for the lady's carriage door; the other shot him dead. Unfazed, the queen demanded the execution of the offender,
• Hôtel de Beauvais, 68 Rue François-Miron (☎01 48 87 74 31), The Hôtel de Beauvais was built in 1654 for Catherine Bellier, the not-so-attractive wife of merchant Pierre de Beauvais and the chambermaid/intimate of Anne d'Autriche. One of history's most successful cougars, the 40-year-old Mme. Bellier is perhaps best known for taking the virginity of the queen's son, the 16-year-old Louis XIV; this being France, the queen felt deeply indebted to Bellier for her services and subsequently promoted her husband to royal advisor. In 1660, Anne d'Autriche and Cardinal Mazarin watched the entry of Louis XIV and his bride, the Spanish princess Marie-Thérèse, into Paris from the balcony of the hôtel. A century later, Mozart played his first piano recital here as a guest of the Bavarian ambassador. Restored in 1967 and home to the Administrative Court of Appeals since 1995, it is only open to the public through the tours given by Paris Historique.
• Église St-Gervais-St-Protais, Pl. St. Gervais St-Gervais-St-Protais was named after Gervase and Protase, two Romans martyred during Nero's reign. The Classical facade, flamboyant Gothic vaulting, stained glass, and a Baroque wooden Christ carved by Préault all constitute this working convent (penguin sightings more than possible). The exterior of the church dates back to the 15th century, while the parish was built in the 6th century and is thought to be the oldest on the Right Bank.
• Tour St-Jacques, Rue de Rivoli A lone erect structure in its own park, this flamboyant Gothic tower is the only remnant of the 16th-century Église Saint-Jacques-la-Boucherie. The 52m tower's meteorological station and the statue of Blaise Pascal at its base commemorate his experiments on the weight of air, performed here in 1648. The tower also marks Haussmann's grande croisée of rue de Rivoli and the bd. Sébastopol, the intersection of his east-west and north-south axes for the city.
• Mémorial de la Shoah, 17 rue Geoffroy l'Asnier (☎01 42 77 44 72; www.memorialdelashoah.org), Opened in 2005, the Mémorial de la Shoah (the Memorial of the Holocaust) functions as a museum, resource center, and archives whose formal mission is to form a bridge between Holocaust survivors and subsequent generations. Beautifully conceived and intensely moving, the museum accomplishes much more. Visitors enter into a small courtyard that features a series of monuments: the memorial to the Unknown Jewish Martyr; a large bronze cylinder resembling the chimney of a gas chamber that bears the names of the major concentration camps; and the Wall of Names, inscribed with the names of the 76,000 Jews, including 11,000 children, deported from France during the Nazi regime. Inside, there is an extensive series of exhibits recounting the deportation itself as well as the somber but beautiful black marble crypt, shaped in the Star of David. In a dark room lit by a single flame, the crypt symbolizes the tomb of the six million Jews who died without a proper burial and contains the ashes of ma Wheelchair access.
• National Archives, 60 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois (☎01 40 27 62 18; www.archivesdefrance.culture.gouv.fr), The most famous documents of the National Archives are on display in the Musée de l'Histoire de France, ensconced in the plush 18th-century Hôtel de Soubise. Two to three annual rotating exhibits feature such transformative treatises as the Treaty of Westphalia, the Edict of Nantes, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man as well as Marie-Antoinette's last letter, letters between Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, and a note from Napoleon to his beloved empress Josephine. Louis XVI's entry for July 14, 1789, the day the Bastille was stormed, reads simply “Rien” (“nothing”)—referring to the hunt that day at Versailles, far from the riots in Paris. Also open to visitors are the apartments of the Princess de Soubise, which are sculpted with mythological motifs and feature works by Boucher. Call for information on current exhibits, as well as occasional performances by foreign dance companies. The Archives' second location at Hôtel de Rohan
• Hôtel de Lamoignon, 22 Rue Malher (☎01 44 59 29 60), Built in 1584 for Henri II's daughter, Diane de France, the Hôtel de Lamoignon is one of the finest hôtels particuliers in the Marais. The facade's Colossal style was copied later in the Louvre. Now the site of the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris, a non-circulating library of Parisian history with 800,000 volumes, Lamoignon also hosts rotating art exhibits portraying Paris. The quiet courtyard on the rue des Francs-Bourgeois is great for picnicking, sunbathing or canoodling. Takes credit cards.
• Musée de Jeu de Paume, 62 rue St-Antoine (www.jeudepaume.org), Located in the Hôtel de Sully on the lower left-hand of the courtyard, this is an annex of the main Musée de Jeu de Paume at pl. de Concorde. It shows only temporary photo exhibitions, but they are usually well worth the visit. Check the website for current showings. Wheelchair access.
• Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, 60 rue Réaumur (☎01 53 01 82 00; www.arts-et-metiers.net), Formerly the Abbey St-Martin-des-Champs, this flamboyant Gothic structure became the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in 1794. Its curators originally hoped to showcase the finest in French industry, but today the structure itself is more impressive than the stuff it contains; the original collection of over 80,000 scientific and mechanical objects and nearly 15,000 detailed scientific drawings is now displayed in the informative, but rather dry, Musée des Arts et Métiers. In the remaining exhibits, follow the evolution of scientific instruments, materials, construction, communication, energy, mechanics, and transportation—from Gramme's “dynamo” to Ader's flying machine, the windmill to the iPod. The Conservatoire's innovative design ideas don't stop once you leave the museum; :Arts et Métiers services the area, which is entirely covered in copper tiling in an homage to the museum and its collection. A theater of automatons—full of princesses, magici Wheelchair access.
• Église St-Paul, 99 rue St-Antoine (☎01 42 72 30 32), Dating from 1627, when King Louis XIII laid its first stone, the Église St-Paul is an imposing fixture on the colorful rue St-Antoine. Its large dome—a trademark of Jesuit architecture—is visible from afar but hidden by ornamentation on the facade. Paintings inside the dome depict four French kings: Clovis, Charlemagne, Robert the Pious, and St-Louis. The embalmed hearts of Louis XIII and Louis XIV were kept here in vermeil (ruby red) boxes before they were destroyed during the Revolution. The church's Baroque interior is graced with three 17th-century paintings of the life of St-Louis and Eugène Delacroix's dramatic Christ in the Garden of Olives (1826). A work by Lebrun is also on display. The holy-water vessels were gifts from Victor Hugo.