3 Free Marais Museums to Explore for Parisian History Insights

The gorgeous courtyard and formal gardens at the Musée Carnavalet/Snøhetta and Chatillon Architectes

Dear Subscribers,

I hope some of you have been managing to eke out a bit of time for contemplation, good food, and family/friend time amid the early Easter holiday this year— and for those who celebrate Passover or Eid, I wish you the same later in the month. For my part, I’ve had a good deal of unscheduled-but-welcome rest and downtime after not realizing my daughter’s nursery/daycare would be closed for a whole six days. But as someone who has a very hard time slowing down, sometimes being forced to do so can be a relief of sorts.

This week, I thought I’d cast a quick spotlight on an aspect of the always-crowded, perennially popular Marais district that gets far less attention than its luxury boutiques, bakeries, falafel joints and historic “gayborhood”.

It also happens to be one of the areas you’ll want to spend a decent amount of time in if French and Parisian history intrigue you. Within a tight radius of just a couple of miles and a few metro stations, you can shuttle between three of the capital’s better history museums. And in more good news, their permanent collections are all free to the general public.