One of 2 self-guided walks in Paris. See every walk.
In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Start at the Hôtel de Ville (metro lines 1 and 11) and finish at the Hôtel de Sully on rue Saint-Antoine: 1.9 km, about 25 minutes of walking and half a day with the museums. Walk it on a Sunday or Tuesday to Friday. On Mondays the Musée Carnavalet and Victor Hugo’s house are shut, and on Saturdays the Mémorial de la Shoah is shut and the shops on rue des Rosiers close; Sunday is the one day everything is open. Nothing needs booking: the Carnavalet is free, and the Maison de Victor Hugo charges for entry until 22 November 2026. Or book a tour: the Marais guided tour without the crowdsad (from £12.75, 1½ hours) walks the district’s streets with a guide.
The route
Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order
Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.
The route runs east from the city hall through the old Jewish quarter to the Place des Vosges, with the city’s history museum on the way. Prices are the adult rate in euros from each operator.
| Stop | Entry (adult) | Open |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Hôtel de Ville | Free to see from the square | Always |
| 2. Saint-Gervais | Free | Monday 8:00 to 20:30; Tuesday to Friday 6:00 to 21:30; Saturday and Sunday 7:00 to 19:10 |
| 3. The Mémorial de la Shoah | Free | Sunday to Friday 10:00 to 18:00; closed Saturdays |
| 4. Rue des Rosiers | Free | Shops open on Sundays; Jewish-owned shops closed on Saturdays |
| 5. The Musée Carnavalet | Permanent collections free | Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00; closed Mondays |
| Detour: the Musée Picasso | €16; free on the first Sunday | Tuesday to Sunday 9:30 to 18:00; closed Mondays |
| 6. Place des Vosges | Free | Garden 8:00 (9:00 at weekends) to 19:30 until 24 October 2026 |
| 7. The Maison de Victor Hugo | Paid until 22 November 2026 | Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00; closed Mondays |
| 8. The Hôtel de Sully | Free to cross | Daytime; the building is not open |
Walk it with a guide
A guide adds the stories and finds the lanes for you. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.
- Paris: Marais Guided Tour Without the Crowdsad, by Discover Walks: from £12.75, 4.7 stars from 620 reviews, 1½ hours, in a small group. It meets at 10 rue des Nonnains d’Hyères, by Saint-Paul metro station.
- Paris: Le Marais District Walking Tour with Small Tastingsad: from £28.05, 4.7 stars from 189 reviews, 2 hours, with tastings on the way.
- Paris: Le Marais & Montmartre Jewish History Walking Tourad, by Walks In Europe: from £84.15, 4.8 stars from 180 reviews, 3½ hours. It follows the Jewish quarter in the Marais, then goes on to Montmartre and the view from the Sacré-Cœur.
1. The Hôtel de Ville
Free to see from the square, open always · metro lines 1 and 11 at Hôtel de Ville
The Hôtel de Ville from the Seine. Photo: DXR, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The seat of the city’s government has stood on this spot since 1357. The present building went up between 1873 and 1892, after the old one burned down in the fighting of 1871, and copies its Renaissance style. From the square in front, leave by the Passage du Gantelet, the lane beside the building, which leads to the church of Saint-Gervais in about 180 m.
2. Saint-Gervais
Free · Monday 8:00 to 20:30, Tuesday to Friday 6:00 to 21:30 (Thursday to 22:30), Saturday and Sunday 7:00 to 19:10 · offices sung by monks and nuns
The façade of Saint-Gervais. Photo: John Gillespie, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
A Gothic church with a classical front added in 1621, in which the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem, monks and nuns who live in the city, have held the services since 1975. Their sung offices are open to anyone, and each is preceded by an hour of silent prayer.
- The offices: Tuesday to Friday at 7:00, 12:30 and 18:00 (the evening one with mass); Saturday at 8:00, 12:15, 12:30 (mass) and 18:30; Sunday at 8:00, 11:00 (mass) and 18:30.
- Monday: a day of retreat for the community, with no office in the church.
- August: the church is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00.
3. The Mémorial de la Shoah
Free for individual visitors · Sunday to Friday 10:00 to 18:00, Thursday to 21:00 · closed on Saturdays and on some Jewish holidays · 17 rue Geoffroy l’Asnier
The Wall of Names at the Mémorial de la Shoah. Photo: Guilhem Vellut, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The museum, documentation centre and memorial to the Jews deported from France is 180 m from Saint-Gervais, down the Allée des Justes parmi les Nations. Its courtyard holds the Wall of Names.
- Guided visits of the permanent exhibition are free: in French every Sunday at 15:00 (1½ hours, no booking), and in English on the second Sunday of the month at 15:00, which falls on 11 October, 8 November and 13 December 2026.
- The metro: Saint-Paul and Hôtel de Ville on line 1, and Pont-Marie on line 7.
4. Rue des Rosiers
Free · shops open on Sundays · Jewish-owned shops close on Saturdays
Rue des Rosiers in the Marais. Photo: ninara, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The centre of the old Jewish quarter, called the Pletzl, the Yiddish for “little place”. The street is exempt from Paris’s Sunday closing, so it is the district’s busiest on Sundays, with falafel counters and Yiddish bakeries trading. Walk its length eastwards, towards the rue Pavée and the Carnavalet.
- Saturdays: the Jewish-owned shops and restaurants are shut for the Sabbath, so the street is quiet.
- Eating: see where to eat.
5. The Musée Carnavalet
Permanent collections free, no booking · Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:15 · closed on Mondays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December
The courtyard of the Hôtel Carnavalet. Photo: GFreihalter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The museum of the history of Paris occupies two mansions, among them the Hôtel Carnavalet at 23 rue de Sévigné, where the letter-writer Madame de Sévigné lived from 1677. The permanent collections cover the history of the city and need no ticket. Rooms close at 17:45, and on 24 and 31 December at 17:00. Only handbag-size bags are accepted, so luggage cannot come in.
- Guided visits and workshops cost €5 to €10 and are listed on the museum’s own agenda.
Detour: the Musée Picasso
€16 · free on the first Sunday of the month (1 November and 6 December 2026), no booking · Tuesday to Sunday 9:30 to 18:00, last admission 17:15 · closed on Mondays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December
Skip this on a short day: it adds about 800 m, north of the Carnavalet. The museum is in the 17th-century Hôtel Salé at 5 rue de Thorigny. Book a time slot on the museum’s site for priority entry, which holds for half an hour after the time on the ticket, or buy at the desk.
6. Place des Vosges
Free · the garden is open from 8:00 (9:00 at weekends) to 19:30 until 24 October 2026, and the hours change with the season
The Place des Vosges. Photo: Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Henri IV ordered the square in 1605 and it opened in 1612 as the Place Royale. It is ringed by 36 pavilions of red brick and stone with slate roofs, built over an arcade, and a statue of Louis XIII on horseback stands in the garden, called the Square Louis XIII.
- The garden has lawns, fountains, drinking water and a play area, and the arcades round the square shelter galleries and cafés.
- The metro: Bastille (lines 1, 5 and 8), Saint-Paul (line 1) and Chemin Vert (line 8) serve the square.
7. The Maison de Victor Hugo
Paid entry until 22 November 2026, including the permanent collections · Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, tickets sold until 17:15 · closed on Mondays
No. 6 Place des Vosges, the Maison de Victor Hugo. Photo: Staroad.fr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The writer lived at No. 6 from 1832 to 1848, on the second floor of the mansion, now a museum run by the City of Paris. The permanent collections are normally free; for the exhibition Hugo et l’architecture, from 11 June to 22 November 2026, every visitor pays. Booking is not compulsory but is strongly recommended. Bags up to 40 x 30 x 20 cm go in a free cloakroom.
8. The Hôtel de Sully
Free to cross, in daytime · the building is not open to visitors · 62 rue Saint-Antoine
The courtyard of the Hôtel de Sully. Photo: Philippe Alès, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
A mansion built in 1625-1630, whose courtyard has carved Renaissance fronts and whose garden ends in an orangery. The building is the headquarters of the Centre des monuments nationaux. Leave Place des Vosges by the passage, cross the courtyard and the garden, and you come out on the rue Saint-Antoine, with the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis opposite and Saint-Paul metro (line 1) a short walk west.
Where to eat
L’As du Fallafel
34 rue des Rosiers · kosher · closed on Saturdays
A falafel counter on the street, kosher and closed for the Sabbath. Order the falafel pita and take it away.
Bistrot des Tournelles
6 rue des Tournelles · dinner only, every day · book a table
A bistro between Place des Vosges and the Bastille, named by 10 sources in the where to eat in Paris ranking, for dinner after the walk. Book ahead through its site.
The best day to go
| Day | What changes on the route |
|---|---|
| Monday | Closed: the Musée Carnavalet, the Maison de Victor Hugo and the Musée Picasso. Saint-Gervais is open from 8:00 but has no offices. The Mémorial de la Shoah, rue des Rosiers and Place des Vosges are open |
| Tuesday to Friday | All open. The Mémorial stays open to 21:00 on Thursday, and Saint-Gervais to 22:30. |
| Saturday | The Mémorial de la Shoah is closed, and so are the Jewish-owned shops and restaurants on rue des Rosiers. The museums, Saint-Gervais and the square are open |
| Sunday | Everything is open, and rue des Rosiers is at its busiest. The Mémorial’s free guided visit is at 15:00, and the Musée Picasso is free on 1 November and 6 December 2026 |
The timing that works: be at the Hôtel de Ville for about 10:00 on a Sunday or Tuesday to Friday, hear a sung office at Saint-Gervais, reach the Mémorial de la Shoah when it is open, and eat on rue des Rosiers at lunchtime. The Carnavalet takes an hour or two in the early afternoon, and Place des Vosges is the place for the end of the day, before the garden closes at 19:30.
What closes:
- 24 October 2026: the last day of the Place des Vosges garden’s current hours, which change with the season.
- 22 November 2026: the Maison de Victor Hugo’s paid exhibition period ends, and its permanent collections return to free entry.
- 1 January, 1 May and 25 December: the Carnavalet and the Musée Picasso are closed.
- Saturdays and Jewish holidays: the Mémorial de la Shoah is closed.
What does not close: the streets, Place des Vosges’s arcades, the Hôtel de Ville from the square, rue des Rosiers itself and the passage through the Hôtel de Sully’s courtyard by day. A Monday still makes a good walk: the Mémorial, the Pletzl and the square are all there, and the missing museums are the Carnavalet, the Hugo house and the Picasso.
Getting there and back
- To the start: Hôtel de Ville is on metro lines 1 and 11. Paris metro tickets explains which ticket to buy.
- From the end: Saint-Paul on line 1 is on the rue Saint-Antoine, a short walk west, and Bastille, on lines 1, 5 and 8, is a short walk east.
- In reverse: the route works from Saint-Paul to the Hôtel de Ville too, but you reach the Mémorial and the Carnavalet late in the day.
What to do with the rest of the day
- Food: Paris food tours compares the Marais tastings, which start in the same streets.
- To sleep here: where to stay in Le Marais lists six hotels by street, with the nearest metro.
- Montmartre: the Montmartre walk is the other walk on this site, on the hill in the north of the city.
- The whole trip: the 3-day Paris itinerary builds the days round the bookings, and what to book before you go to Paris has the rest of the tickets.
Common questions
How long is the Marais walk?
1.9 km from the Hôtel de Ville to the Hôtel de Sully, measured along the streets: about 25 minutes of walking. With the Musée Carnavalet, the Mémorial de la Shoah and Victor Hugo's house it takes half a day.
Is the Marais walk free?
The streets, Place des Vosges, the Musée Carnavalet's permanent collections, the Mémorial de la Shoah, the Hôtel de Sully's courtyard and the churches cost nothing. The Maison de Victor Hugo charges for entry until 22 November 2026, and the Musée Picasso, a detour, is €16.
Which day is best for the Marais walk?
Sunday, or Tuesday to Friday. On Mondays the Musée Carnavalet, the Maison de Victor Hugo and the Musée Picasso are closed, and on Saturdays the Mémorial de la Shoah is closed and the Jewish-owned shops on rue des Rosiers shut for the Sabbath. Sunday is the one day every stop is open.
Are the shops on rue des Rosiers open on Sundays?
Yes. The street is exempt from Paris's Sunday trading limits, so its shops and falafel counters are open and busy on Sundays. Jewish-owned shops close on Saturdays.
Can you go inside the Hôtel de Sully?
Not the building, which is the headquarters of the Centre des monuments nationaux. You can cross its courtyard and garden in daytime, which leads between rue Saint-Antoine and Place des Vosges, at no cost.
Where do you start the Marais walk by metro?
At Hôtel de Ville, on lines 1 and 11. The walk ends on rue Saint-Antoine, where Saint-Paul on line 1 and Bastille on lines 1, 5 and 8 are the nearest stations.
