Le Marais/Paris - The Historic, Trendy, Jewish, LGBT district
Description
The Le Marais / Paris Tour is a cultural journey through one of the city’s most historic and vibrant districts, blending art, history, architecture, and cultural diversity. Walk through narrow medieval streets and discover elegant "hôtels particuliers"— grand mansions once home to French nobility and royalty. Explore the iconic Place des Vosges, one of Europe’s most beautiful squares, where Victor Hugo lived and wrote "Notre-Dame de Paris". Beyond the main landmarks, the tour reveals hidden courtyards, secret gardens, art galleries, and authentic corners of Le Marais. You will also explore the rich history of Paris’s Jewish community and the lively LGBTQ quarter. Includes: French history, Jewish settlement history, and LGBTQ culture. Please note: synagogues are NOT accessible, and the tour does NOT include shopping, food tastings, restaurants, or museum visits. Ready to explore? Come and enjoy this vibrant neighborhood!
Tour Options
Itinerary
You admire the unique in Europe ‘Place de Vosges’ former ‘Place Royale’, where French writer, Victor Hugo lived and wrote the romantic novel ’Notre-Dame de Paris’ and the modern art galleries around it.
You explore the beauty of French architecture of the aristocracy and royalty of France, waking in the narrow streets, along typical ‘Hotel Particuliers’- French urban ‘mansion’.
My itinerary leads you to off – touristy spots, court- yards and gardens, to the Jewish district, with its typical food stores and refined casher pastry.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(370)
My daughter, my two teenage grandchildren and I had a terrific time with Jill. I was very impressed how she was able to engage my grandchildren. We learned a lot of history and saw places we would not have seen on our own. All of this in the middle of the heatwave…. Maybe because of this it was just the four of us which was great.
This was a wonderful way to see historically rich places in Paris. We were three generations (70s, 40s, teens) and all of us enjoyed the points that Jill shared as she took us through the Marais throughout time. She was very thoughtful and made sure in this 32degree Celsius heat we refilled our water at every chance. It was excellent and considerate that she had a mic on radio and we had ear pieces so that we never missed a word and did not disturb people not in our tour. Thank you Jill for sharing the beauty and story of this city and your consideration for our interests and ages. Thank you for taking some family pictures to help us remember our trip!
This tour was beyond my expectations. Jill is a wealth of information. I learned so much from her. I could have walked another two hours with her, even with the extreme heat. She is so knowledgeable. It was an informative and fun tour.
My time with Jill was wonderful. I felt I was walking around a neighborhood I would remember afterwards, and I did notice that we covered the district really thoroughly, sometimes crossing the same street but not repeating locations, so I could see how it fit together. It was good to hear the deep history of the quarter and see how that was expressed in the buildings and streets. Jill did her tour route but also got a sense of my interests and took me to some really special places that I would not have found on my own. It was delightful.
Thank you very much Jill Paris Cultural Guide
My tour with Jill was excellent. She is so knowledgeable, patient, and engaging. The details she provided painted a story for us as we walked through Le Marais that let me really imagine the history and the people living there. She has a real talent for this. Plus a good dash of humor. I would recommend her to anyone.
Thank you so much. Jill Paris Cultural Guide
I was disappointed . She told a few stories about some homes. It was a very hot day. I really wanted to see synagogues. It was at end of tour I didn’t feel well so I left. Hard for me to understand with her accent. Hard of hearing with the speaker. I wanted to see
Bonjour Linda, For clarification: 1. You booked Le Marais/ Paris Regular , not Private tour- for 2 persons. One of the person did not show up. You demanded , at the beginning of the tour, to be refund fully the absent person. Note: in the Viator cancellation policy there is the indication that cancellation has to be done 24hours before the time of the tour, hence the absent person booking is not refund 2. ' She told some stories about some homes" Note: You visited not homes , but 15th century historic monument and the Memorial of Shoah as well . 3.' I really wanted to see syngogues' Note: In my itinerary description is not mentioned visiting synagoges. Synagoges in le Marais/ Paris are not opened for tourists. 4. I have visitors from all over the world in my tours., different social back grounds, religion, confession, color, language, ages, accents, etc Note: Le Marais/ Paris tour is not a cofessional/ religion one, but a French cultural tour: architecture, history, art, gastronomy , culture of the past and present life , including the Jewish settlement history. 5. At the begining of the tour, you mentioned your wearing hearing divices on both ears. Note; I offered headphones to you, as I do to all my visitors. You did not complain one second during 1 hour and 30 minute Le Marais/ Paris tour of' not ' understanding my accent' though. I sincerely regret that after 1 .30 h Le Marais/ Paris tour , under 36 C / 100 F you were not satisfied about the tour, in spite of my doing the best to Insist upon Jewish settlement history , to meet your special interest. Best, Jill Paris Cultural Guide
Tour guide Jill, was a wonderfull teller of historical facts in the area. She took us back and forth time in and was a wealth of colourfully descriptive knowledge explaining different periods of time in Marais. Fascinating tour. Highly recommend.
Thank you so much Jill Paris Cultural Guide
So educated and knowledgeable. Jill was fantastic. Could of spent all day with her just to hear history
Thank you very much Jill Paris Cultural Guide
We were fortunate to be the only two on the tour, so we had Jill all to ourselves. We chose to focus on the ancient and Jewish history of Le Marais. Jill clearly had an extensive understanding of the region and was able to lay the key events that took place in Le Marais in order to create a historic narrative of the region. We learned that the Romans were building roads through "the swamp" as early as 50 BC! We visited the grand former homes of the aristocracy and learned about their fates during the French revolution. Jill explained the history of the thriving Jewish community in Le Marias, and how it was nearly destroyed by the NAZI invasion, with the collaboration of the Vichy French government. Overall the tour provided a nearly 2000 year-long slice of French history as seen from Le Marais.
Thank you very much Jill Paris Cultural Guide
Jill was our guide for a tour through Le Marais when we first arrived in Paris. It was a perfect way to be introduced to Paris, and we loved it so much that we’ve signed up for more and more tours with Jill. A tour with Jill feels like spending a day with a friend who has lived in Paris for a long time — and she knows everything, and is happy to share her knowledge with you. Who wouldn’t feel lucky to have such a friend (and now I do consider Jill a friend ❤️)? Sign up for a tour with Jill, you’ll be so happy you did! (Posting a couple of photos from a tour in Auvers-sur-Oise, ask her about that one too, was wonderful if you love art and absolutely stunning small towns.)
Thank you so much. Jill Paris Cultural Guide
