August 31th, 2022

The historic district in Paris, France.

The Marais is a historic district in Paris, France. Having once been an aristocratic district, it is home to many buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements in Paris on the Rive Droite, or Right Bank, of the Seine. After a long period of decay, the district has undergone a transformation in recent years and is now once again among the more fashionable areas of the city.

The Place des Vosges (French pronunciation: originally Place Royale, is the oldest planned square in Paris, France.

After the French Revolution, the district was no longer the aristocratic district it had been during the 17th and 18th centuries. Because of this, the district became a popular and active commercial area, hosting one of Paris' main Jewish communities. At the end of the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th, the district around the rue des Rosiers referred to as the "Pletzl", welcomed many Eastern European Jews (Ashkenazi) who reinforced the district's clothing specialization. During World War II the Jewish community was targeted by the Nazis who were occupying France. As of today, the rue des Rosiers remains a major center of the Paris Jewish community, which has made a comeback since the 1990s. Public notices announce Jewish events, bookshops specialize in Jewish books, and numerous restaurants and other outlets sell kosher food.

Victor Hugo’s house, place des Vosges

After the success of the novel Notre-Dame-de-Paris, published in 1831, which consecrated the artist as a romantic writer, the family moved into an apartment in the Place des Vosges. The House of Victor Hugo allows you to survey the places where Victor Hugo lived. It was also a major trade fair for Parisian arts and letters, where Theophile Gautier, Lamartine, Dumas, Merimee, and David d’Angers met.

Photo credit: Maya Jonhson