A neighbourhood guide to Le Marais

Art and culture in Le Marais

Set in two grand buildings dating from the Renaissance, the often-overlooked Musée Carnavalet has a superb mix of artefacts and items showcasing the city’s history, from Marie Antoinette’s objets to 19-th century signs and shopfronts. A short stroll away, in the Place des Vosges, one of Paris’s oldest and most beautiful squares, is the Maison de Victor Hugo, which takes you through the rooms where Victor Hugo wrote Les Misérables.

Several other noble mansions have also been transformed into museums, including the Musée Picasso Paris, located in the splendid 17th-century Hôtel Salé, which houses over 5,000 works and tens of thousands of archived pieces. In contrast, on the western edge of Le Marais you’ll find the Centre Pompidou, a striking building with a glass and steel structure encased by brightly coloured pipes, and home to Europe’s largest modern art collection.

Eating in Le Marais

Le Marais overflows with delightful restaurants dotted along its picturesque narrow streets, and among these is Benoit, owned by Alain Ducasse since 2005. The atmosphere here is delightfully vintage, with red velvet banquettes and wooden panelling. The restaurant serves classic French dishes on pretty floral crockery and is known as one of the most authentic bistros in Paris. Other Michelin-starred restaurants include L’Ambroisie, in a townhouse on Place des Vosges, where chef Bernard Pacaud creates exceptional French Haute Cuisine, and the romantic Michelin-starred Qui Plume la Lune, known for its fresh local produce from small-scale farmers.