Walking in the Marais District
On our last morning in Paris the group went for a walk in the Marais district. The Marais is one of Paris's oldest and most visually stunning neighbourhoods. At one point in time the area was an aristocratic historic district of Paris. The neighbourhood has many outstanding buildings of historic and architectural importance. In 1240 the Order of the Temple built its fortified church just outside of Paris' walls in the northern part of the Marais. The temple turned the district into an attractive area and many religious institutions were built nearby. In 1361 the King Charles V built a mansion known as the Hotel Saint-Pol in which the Royal Court settled during his reign as well as his son's. From that time to the 17th century and especially after the Royal Square (Place Royale, current place des Vosges) was designed under King Henri IV in 1605, the Marais was the French nobility's favourite place of residence.
As we were walking in the area we met up with the "Pigeon Man" and were trying to figure out if he was living in his van.
By the 1950's, the district had become a working-class area and most of its architectural masterpieces were in bad shape. In 1964, General de Gaulle's Culture Minister made the Marais the first sector sauvegarde (literally safeguarded sector). This was meant to protect and conserve places of special cultural significance. In the following decades the government and the Parisian municipality have led an active restoration and rehabilitation policy.
The main Hotels particulars have been restored and turned into museums. The gardens above are part of the grounds of the Hotel Carnavalet which is now the Paris Historical Museum.
Le Marais almost felt like medieval Paris. Walking in the streets looking at beautiful buildings and houses was an indication of the wealthy status of the former residents. After the revolution, much of the area was abandoned by the rich and the poor bohemian types moved in. The area was considered so squalid at this point that it was nearly destroyed by city officials who wanted to modernize Paris. Before Napoleon showed up the Marais is what most of Paris looked like- a maze of cobblestone alleys. The rest of Paris was razed by Napoleon and Haussman who wanted to build avenues and gigantic squares such the Place Concorde. The purpose of the broad avenues was to make the citizen feel small and powerless when faced with the giant civic machine of government.
The Marais was a place to wander around in the streets and circles and never find your way. In the morning with Seymour as our guide we had no problems since Seymour knew the area very well. However, when our group decided to go back to the area for dinner it took us a couple of hours to find our way to the park we were looking for (probably should have taken us a half an hour). This shot above was actually taken on our evening walk. The Church of Saint-Paul-Saint Louis was built in the XVII century on the orders of Louis XIII. The first mass was celebrated by Cardinal Richelieu on May 9, 1641. The church is adjacent to the Lycée Charlemagne, the former house of the Jesuits in Paris.
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The Marais has now become a fashionable district, home to many trendy restaurants, fashion houses and galleries. After the nobility started to move to the Faubourg-Saint Germain, the district became a popular and active commercial area, hosting one of Paris's main Jewish communities. The rue des Rosiers is still a major centre of the Paris Jewish community which has made a renewal since the 1990's. The neighbourhood has also experienced a growing gay presence and also is known as a Chinese community. |
Since its revival in the 1960s, the area has evolved from a mostly working class and immigrant area to one of the most affluent and prestigious areas in the city. |
There was a lot of street art in the district. |
The most famous garden in the Marais is Place des Vosges which is also the oldest planned square in Paris. Apparently it is a very typical French garden in that everything is tidy and the buildings all around are harmonious which you can see from the photo. Originally known as the Place Royale, the Place des Vosges was built by Henri IV from 1605 to 1612.
Cardinal Richelieu had an equestrian bronze statue of Louis XIII erected in the centre. The original was melted down in the Revolution; the present version above replaced it in 1825. |
The arcade of the Place des Vosges. |
Meet Pinot who was my instructor at a bread class that I took the day before I left Paris.
We made baguettes which didn't look as good as the ones in the bakeries but they tasted pretty good. We also made up a mixture of shallots, butter and sugar which was absolutely delicious and made the baguettes taste even better.
At the end of the class we enjoyed the bread with some wine and cheese. We also made Brioche which was delicious.
The shallot/butter mixture was made for the fougasse (focaccia). I ended up taking lots of bread back with me which we all enjoyed on the train ride to Nice the next day.
As I mentioned we were so impressed with the Marais district that we decided to go and get lost there in the evening. We were trying to find out way back to the gardens. Still there were several photo opportunities on the way.
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The bars and cafes were filling up quickly as there was another world cup soccer game on in the evening.
Sam and Chris decided to eat in this outdoor cafe which was just across the street from the Place Des Vosges. Gretchen wasn't hungry and I was still full from the bread and cheese that I ate in class not to mention the best French Toast I had for brunch. Looking back at the week I probably had never eaten as much bread as I did this week(except perhaps when I was in San Francisco learning how to bake bread). Croissants or French toast for breakfast and always bread for lunch and dinner.
So while Chris and Sam were eating dinner we walked back to the square where there were lots of Parisians enjoying the fabulous evening.
I had to take this photo just to show how close the cars park to each other in the streets.
Eventually Gretchen and I wandered outside of the park to check out some other streets.
Gretchen and I found ourselves on this picturesque Rue Saint-Antoine which is a very historical street in the heart of the Marais district.
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This ends my story of Paris. I hope you enjoyed the photographs. Of course a week in Paris is not nearly long enough to see everything that the city has to offer.
Comments
Really love the shots of your baking class...your instructor has such a great face! Another blog so well done!