A timeless stroll through the hidden corners of the Marais

The route starts at the Bastille metro station (line 1 or 5).

(S) Take Rue Saint-Antoine. Continue straight on until you reach Rue de Birague, then turn right. At the end of the street, pass under a portico of the Pavillon du Roi and arrive at Place des Vosges. Enter the square and continue straight on until you reach the equestrian statue of Louis XIII (note the overall architecture of the square and the fountains in the square).

(1) Turn sharply left to exit the square via its south-west corner. Then pass under a portico to reach the landscaped courtyard of the Hôtel de Sully (a superb Renaissance-style residence adorned with numerous mascarons). Cross this courtyard, pass under another portico and enter the hotel’s second courtyard by walking between two sphinxes. Note thefaçades adorned with numerous mascarons and statues of figures with various animals at their feet (dogs, lions, snakes, etc.). Leave the courtyard through a beautiful gate and rejoin Rue Saint-Antoine.

(2) Follow the street to the right and take the first right, Ruede Turenne (at No. 1, there is a depiction of an octopus above a fishmonger’s). Take the second left, Rue de Jarente. Note, on the right, the Impasse des Poissonniers with an old fountain decorated with foliage and fish, which was reserved for fishmongers when the Sainte-Catherine market was in operation. Then take a short detour to the left to admire the Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine.

Continue alongRue de Jarente, then turn right onto RueMadame de Sévigné. Cross Rue des Francs Bourgeois and immediately enter the courtyard of the Carnavalet Museum to admire the architecture and the statue of Louis XIV. Continue along Rue Madame de Sévigné. At the end, turn left into Rue de Port-Royal, then left again into Rue Payenne.

(3) Enter the usually quiet Square Georges Cain and walk around it. Note the statue of Aristide Maillol (Ile-de-France) in the centre.

(3) Continue along Rue Payenne. Cross Rue des Francs-Bourgeois again and, at the Fork in the road that appears immediately, turn right into Rue Pavée. Take the first right, Rue des Rosiers, then turn right into Rue des Rosiers (a pedestrian street).

(4) After less than a hundred metres, at No. 10, turn right into the Jardin des Rosiers. Covering an area of approximately 2,100 m², it brings together the gardens of several private mansions and consists of three sections. Retrace your steps.

(4) Continue along Rue des Rosiers. Take the first right, Rue des Hospitalières Saint-Gervais (pedestrianised), and you’ll arrive at the Parvis des 260 Enfants (on the right, two old fountains, each adorned with a bronze bull’s head created by Edme Gaulle in 1819). Continue straight on, rejoining Rue des Francs Bourgeois; follow it to the left and pass the Halle des Blancs Manteaux, a former covered market, now a cultural and sports centre.

(5) At the junction, go straight on and, after about fifty metres, you’ll reachthe Churchof Notre-Dame des Blancs Manteaux. Retrace your steps back to the junction.

(5) Turn left onto Rue Vieille du Temple. Of note: at No. 54 (immediately), Jean Hérouet’s house; at^{no. 61}, the Barbette postern gate, cut through the walls of Philippe Auguste; at no. 75, the Hôtel de la Tour du Pin, built in 1725 by the architect Pierre Jacquot de Villeneuve for Pierre-Nicolas Bertin; at no. 87, the Hôtel de Rohan (National Archives); at no. 76, a beautiful doorway.

Take the second right onto Rue de la Perle (the street sign features a reproduction of Johannes Vermeer’s *Girl with a Pearl Earring*, 1655). Places of interest: at No. 1, the Hôtel Libéral Bruant, a centre for contemporary art and the former Musée de la Serrurerie; at No. 3, a mansion designed by Libéral Bruant in 1684; at No. 9, the opening on 1 October 1862 of the first vocational school for girls; at No. 18–20, the site of the ‘de la Perle’ jeu de paume court.

Turn onto Rue de Thorigny, follow it to the left and walk past the Picasso Museum. Take the first right, into Rue Sainte Anastase. At the end, cross Rue de Turenne and follow it to the right. Take the first left, into Rue Villehardouin. At the end, turn left and you will immediately reach Rue du Grand Veneur.

(6) Enter the Square du Grand Veneur and walk round it. Retrace your steps.

(6) Turn left and go under a portico. You’ll come out onto Rue des Arquebusiers; follow it to the left. At the end, turn left into Rue Saint-Claude. Walk past the Church of Saint-Denis. At the corner, first turn left then right onto Rue du Roi Doré. At the end, rejoin Rue de Thorigny and follow it to the right. Turn left straight away onto Rue Debelleyme.

Return to Rue Vieille du Temple and follow it to the left. Of note: at nos. 102–104, the Hôtel de Ferrari, an annexe of the Lycée Victor Hugo; at no. 106, the Hôtel Mégret de Serilly; at no. 110, the Hôtel d’Hozier. Then turn right into Rue du Perche. At the end of the street, note the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross on the left.

(7) Turn right onto Rue Charlot (at no. 12, there is a gate with lion heads). Take the first left, Rue Pastourelle, then the first right, Rue de Beauce, which is narrow at the start but widens further on.

(8) Before the end of the street, turn right into Rue des Oiseaux. Enter the Marché des Enfants Rouges (wall murals; places to eat). Leave the market on the left, coming out onto Rue de Bretagne, and follow it to the right. Carry on straight ahead and, at the crossroads, continue straight across into Rue Froissart. Carry on straight ahead until you reach Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, where you’ll find the Saint Sébastien-Froissart metro station (line 5) on your right (E).