The Marais was in Roman times exactly what its name signifies: a swamp. However, by the 12th century, the marsh was drained, and farms, homes, and streets began to appear. One of the most unique features of the Marais district during the Middle Ages was its royal jousting pavilion. However, after King Henri II died there in 1559 during a jousting accident, the passion for medieval contact sports greatly abated, and the pavilion was dismantled. A century later, Henri IV decided to build a palace on one side of the gardenlike former jousting area; other members of the court decided to build grand new homes (called hôtels) around the edge of the meadow, and Europe's first formal square, now called the place des Vosges, was born. The place de Vosges is often considered France's first planned urban development.

The Marais filled with more and more high society and grand hôtels—Mme de Sévigné, Cardinal Richelieu, as well as the royal family all had homes here, and Molière, Racine, and Voltaire held forth in the great salons. Finally the court moved to Versailles, and the Revolution made aristocratic living in the Marais a dangerous pastime. The Marais declined, becoming the Jewish and immigrant quarter.

In the 1960s, the French government undertook a major restoration project in the Marais, an area that now stretches between the Beaubourg and the Bastille. The program obviously succeeded: This is now one of the hottest neighborhoods in Paris for shopping, dining, and trendy living. The medieval streets make for fascinating strolling, and there's plenty of window shopping as well: Next door to Middle Eastern spice stores are high fashion boutiques, and cozy cafés edge up to antique emporiums.

As the center of Paris's Jewish community, the Marais is also the site of synagogues, delicatessens, and kosher butcher shops. The rue de Rosiers, the main artery of this busy neighborhood, has its own sad history. It was the street from which Germans and French collaborators rounded up Jewish residents for the trip to the concentration camps.

The highlight of the Marais is still the place des Vosges. Remarkably well-preserved, this exquisite square will take your breath away as you enter under its arched arcades. There is no way not to feel transported back in time standing in the midst of its 17th-century splendor—that is, until you notice the very 20th-century designer boutiques, antique shops, and fine restaurants. The gardenlike atmosphere of the square makes a perfect retreat in which to leave behind the sirens and the shriek of traffic, and to sit and take in one of the gentler scenes of the city. The so rosy tone of the time-worn stones gives the square the look of the most delicate of impressionist paintings.

A number of old Marais homes are now museums, including Victor Hugo's house (No. 6, place des Vosges), the Musée Picasso, and the Musée Carnavalet.