Le Marais

Come journey with me to Paris. No not the usual trip down Champs Elysees and past the Eiffel Tower. But rather, to a place called Le Marais. We met up with the incredible Coco from Travellur as our tour guide. (More photos of Coco here)Travellur is a slow travel company, and believe me, not rushing from one end to the other is the best way to travel. Having time to breathe, to take in and experience the less travelled route. Have a look at Coco’s website www.travellur.com

First we walked through the beautiful, narrow roads of Le Marais where we visited a beautiful local perfumery called Nicolai. Le Marais is filled with beautiful shops, cafe’s and very high walls. Next to these walls you start to wonder what is on the inside. Low and behold, we entered into one of these large gates, to visit the Hotel Soubise, a city mansion located in the 3rd arrondissement in Paris. This City Mansion once belonged to the Prince and Princesse de Soubise built in 1375. It now holds the old city records. Journey with me through this beautiful Manor House with it’s glorious recoco style interiors, beautiful topiary gardens and incredible history. In one of the archives rooms, I looked at the letter written by Mari-Antoinette to her sister, just before her execution. As Coco read and explained to me, the letter was written to her sister asking that she should please take care of her children when she is gone. A few blotted ink areas on the old piece of paper, which could have been tears falling on the letter. Had me crying a few tears myself.

After our tour of Hotel Soubise we wandered over the Seine and visited the very popular Au Vieux Paris Cafe where we ended our beautiful day.