Once a mere swampland, the Marais (meaning swamp) is now one of the most sumptuous and surprising quarters of Paris. Who would have ever thought such splendor could arise from the murky waters of a marshland?

It is one of the few places in Paris that nourishes the eccentric, mixes classic beauty with quirky charms, cradles tradition while breathing life into creative minds that cherish innovation.

In walking distance of the Louvre, the Seine, the Sorbonne, and Notre Dame; it is the city within a city, where one can be who they want to be.

12th Century

Consisting of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, the heart of the Marais started beating in the 12th century when the religious institutions began to build, followed by the Jewish community.

But the area really began to flourish when the Kings left the Louvre to live in the Hotel Saint-Pol and Henri the IV and decided to build la place Royale, today known as Place de Vosges.

They constructed around it the sublime hotels, turning it into a charismatic square and some of the hotels we can still visit today.

Around the seventeenth century, the Marais suffered through a dark spot in history. Versailles took over the spotlight and the noblemen began to sell their hotels to the bourgeois. Its luster temporarily dulled, especially at the time of the French Revolution, but in nineteenth century the Marais developed a new charm with the settling of artists and small merchants in the community. READ MORE