Walk in the Marais

Starting point and access: Place de la République.
- Metro - Lines 3, 5, 8, 9 and 11. Take exit 2 Rue du Temple.
- Bus - Lines 20, 56, 75, 91.

In some places, the route crosses or is shared with a^GR® (red and white markings) or a^GRP® (red and yellow markings). Given the systematic street signage, stick to the route on the map and this description, where it was not deemed necessary to mention these markings.

(S) When you exit the metro station, go straight ahead and walk along Place de la République on your left. At the corner of a pharmacy, turn right and take Passage Vendôme (covered). Turn left into Rue Béranger, then right into Rue Charles-François Dupuis. Then take the first street on the right, Rue de la Corderie: this is a winding street that ends opposite the Lycée Bernard Palissy. Turn left and then immediately right into Rue Eugène Spuller.

Walk along the Carreau du Temple on your left and, at the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Perrée. At the end, continue along Rue du Forez. At the T-junction (with a beautiful gate opposite), turn right onto Rue Charlot. At the next junction, turn right onto Rue de Bretagne and walk along the Marché des Enfants Rouges on your left. Take the first left, the narrow Rue de Beauce.

(1) At the end, turn left onto Rue Pastourelle. At the next intersection, continue straight ahead on Rue de Poitou. Cross Rue de Saintonge (formerly Rue de Touraine) and, at the next intersection, turn right onto Rue Debelleyme. Cross Rue Vieille du Temple and continue on Rue Debelleyme. At the next fork, turn right onto Rue de Thorigny and, after a few dozen metres, turn left onto Rue du Roi Doré.

Opposite the Church of Saint-Denys du Saint-Sacrement, cross Rue de Turenne, turn left and then immediately right into Rue Saint-Claude. Take the^first right, Rue des Arquebusiers, then the first right again, under a porch, into Rue du Grand Veneur (private property, pedestrian access permitted during garden opening hours). Cross a courtyard, pass under a second porch and you will come to the entrance to the Jardin Saint-Gilles-Grand Veneur, at the junction with Rue de Hesse.

(2) Enter the garden on the right and walk around it at your leisure to enjoy the peace and quiet and various views of the Hôtel du Grand Veneur. Return to the intersection with Rue de Hesse.

(2) Head south on Rue de Hesse and pass under a^third archway. At the exit, turn right onto Rue Villehardouin (which forms a right angle at this point). At the end (statue of the Virgin and Child), turn right onto Rue de Turenne, pass the monumental gate of the Hôtel du Grand Veneur on your right (information sign) and turn left onto Rue Sainte-Anastase. At the end, turn left and then right and follow Rue des Coutures Saint-Gervais. At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Vieille du Temple, then right onto Rue des Quatre Fils.

N.B. The National Archives are undergoing renovation work for several months, which will affect access to the gardens, particularly between the National Archives garden and the courtyard of the Hôtel de Soubise. During the works:
- If the passage between the garden and the courtyard is closed, at No. 18 (3), continue straight ahead on Rue des Quatre Fils. At the intersection, turn left onto Rue des Archives. Then take^{the first} right, Rue de Braquet, and rejoin the main route.
- If possible, visit the National Archives garden before continuing along Rue des Quatre Fils.
- The courtyard of the Hôtel de Soubise is worth a visit: the entrance is at 60 Rue des Francs Bourgeois, which can be reached by following Rue des Archives and taking the^first left. Then resume the main route from its starting point (4).

(3) At No. 18 (on the right), go through a gate on the left to enter the gardens of the National Archives. Go through a^second gate and you will come to a first garden. Continue straight ahead and you will come to a^second garden (large building on the right).

Continue straight ahead and pass under an arbour. Continue to the rear of a mansion and turn right to walk alongside it on your left. Go around a small pond on the left and turn right to leave the garden. Then turn left and go through a^third gate to enter the inner courtyard of the Hôtel de Soubise. Cross the courtyard on the left, exit onto Rue des Francs Bourgeois and follow this street to the right for a few metres.

(4) At the crossroads, turn right into Rue des Archives. At the next intersection (turrets on the façade of the Hôtel de Clisson), turn left onto Rue de Braque. At the end, follow Rue du Temple to the left. At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Rambuteau, then take^{the first} right onto Rue Pecquay. At the end, turn left onto Rue des Blancs Manteaux.

Cross Rue des Archives and walk along the left-hand side of the Notre-Dame des Blancs Manteaux church and then a square. At the T-junction opposite the Halles des Blancs Manteaux, turn left and then right into Rue des Francs Bourgeois.

(5) Turn left into Impasse des Arbalétriers, a cobbled alleyway (covered in graffiti) with corbelled houses, and retrace your steps.

(5) At the end of the cul-de-sac, continue straight ahead into Rue des Hospitalières Saint-Gervais. Walk past a school on your left (with sculptures of cattle heads and a plaque in memory of deported children). At the end, turn left onto Rue des Rosiers. Follow this street, crossing two streets on your right. Note the entrance to the Jardin des Rosiers on your left (open to visitors).

Then turn left onto Rue Pavée. At the next intersection (remains of a prison wall on the right), turn left, still on Rue Pavée. Take the first street on the right, Rue des Francs Bourgeois, and walk along the Musée Carnavalet on your left. At the next intersection (with a view of the Church of Saint-Paul and Saint-Louis on your right), continue straight ahead until you reach Place des Vosges.

(6) Continue straight ahead, either under the arcades (on the left) or along the square (on the right). Cross Rue de Béarn and, at the corner of the square, turn right. At the end, turn right again and cross Rue de Birague. At the next corner of the square, opposite No. 5, turn left and go under a porch to enter the garden of the Hôtel de Sully. Go to the building opposite, cross it and then cross the inner courtyard to exit onto Rue Saint-Antoine. Cross this street and continue straight ahead into Rue de l'Hôtel Saint-Paul.

At the T-junction, turn right onto Rue Neuve Saint-Pierre. At the end, turn right and then left to enter Passage Saint-Paul (a cobbled alleyway). When the alleyway ends at the Church of Saint-Paul and Saint-Louis and turns left, push open the side door of the church and go inside. Cross the church (avoid doing so during services; see the alternative route in the practical information section) and you will find the main entrance on your right, Rue Saint-Antoine. Follow this street to the left and you will soon see the Saint-Paul metro station on your right (E).

To return home:
- Metro - Line 1.

Good walking shoes are sufficient for this route, which is entirely on paved roads or, in some places, on stabilised paths. There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

A detailed map is required (at least the one accompanying this description). The time indicated is the walking time and does not include the many potential stops.

Opening hours of public places:
Jardin Saint-Gilles-Grand Veneur
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Closing time: 5pm to 8.30pm depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
National Archives Gardens
- Opening times: 7.45 a.m. to 8.45 a.m. depending on the day.
- Closing time: 5pm to 10.45pm depending on the day. See detailed opening hours.
Hôtel de Sully
No specific information available. If closed, take Rue de Birague and then turn right onto Rue Saint-Antoine.
Saint-Pierre and Saint-Louis Church
Every day from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. If closed or during services, continue along Rue Saint-Paul until Rue Saint-Antoine and follow the latter on the left.

Walk completed by the author on 14 January 2017.

From Place de la République (S) to Jardin du Grand Veneur (2):
- Place and Statue de la République.
- Passage Vendôme, listed as a historic monument.
- Rue Béranger: mansions.
- Le Carreau du Temple, a former covered market (19th century) now a cultural and sports centre.
- The Marché des Enfants Rouges, so named because of its proximity, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, to an orphanage whose residents wore red uniforms.
- Rue Debelleyme: Louis XIII-style mansions.
- Saint-Denys du Saint-Sacrement Church (19th century) with a Pietà by Delacroix inside.

From the Jardin du Grand Veneur (2) to the Impasse des Arbalétriers (5):
- Jardin Saint-Gilles-Grand Veneur.
- Hôtel du Grand Veneur (17th century).
- Picasso Museum at 5 Rue de Thorigny.
- Gardens of the National Archives (Jardin de Rohan).
- Facade of the Hôtel de Clisson (turrets), Rue des Archives.
- Rue Braque: beautiful gates of private mansions at numbers 4 and 6, courtyard at number 7.
- Hôtel de Montmor (1623) on the right at the intersection of Rue de Braque and Rue du Temple.
- Beautiful old houses on Rue Pecquay.

From Impasse des Arbalétriers (5) to Saint-Paul metro station (E):
- Impasse des Arbalétriers, with its corbelled houses.
- Rue des Rosiers and Rue des Ecouffes.
- Remains of a prison wall, Rue Pavée.
- Carnavalet Museum.
- Place des Vosges: Louis XIII-style mansions, arcades, square with fountains, birthplace of the Marquise de Sévigné.
- Hôtel de Sully (17th century).
- Passage Saint-Paul.
- Saint-Paul and Saint-Louis Church (17th-19th centuries).