Le Marais: stretching west to east between Les Halles and the Bastille and north to south from the République to the seine, the heart of the Marais remains immediately west of its lung, the place des Vosges. Before Henri IV commissioned this symmetrical "place Royale" in 1605, the nearby rue St-Antoine was already a popular axis for royal festivities, while for two centuries the northern section had been controlled by the powerful religious and military Ordre des Templiers (Knights Templar) until its brutal suppression in 1313. Even in Roman times this low lying area was calles Le Marais (the marsh).

But it was the 17th and, to a lesser extent, the 18th centuries that propelled the Marais to its zenith, with aristocrats vying to create the most elegant mansion, the most imposing courtyard and the most precious interior. Literary salons, philosophical debates, duels, love affairs, power struggles: the Marais rapidly became a hotbed for the likes of Madame de sévigné, Voltaire, Molière, Racine and Richelieu. With the Revolution, its aristocratic sun set and its glorious mansions were sold off to merchants and craftsmen.

 

 

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[Paris apartments in Paris]