WHAT TO SEE NEAR THE HOTEL CARON LE MARAIS, PARIS?
OUR CHARMING BOUTIQUE HOTEL AND ITS STREET IN THE HEART OF THE MARAIS
We are an island of tranquillity in the lively Marais district, just a stone's throw from restaurants, cafés, bars, historic sites and trendy boutiques. For our pretty little street, peace and quiet and a little story to tell you...
Rue Caron
Our street was originally named rue Neuve du Colombier, then rue Ducolombier, after the lawyer Jacques-François Marchand de Colombier, who acquired at auction a large part of the land of the priory of Sainte-Catherine-du-Val-des-Écoliers, which once stood on the site.
It was later named after Louis Caron (1642-1716), King Louis XVI's master general of buildings and of bridges and roads in France, who was the first to draw up a plan to build a market on the site of the priory.
However, it was a different plan that gave rise to the covered market that was inaugurated in 1789 on the square near our hotel, then disappeared in 1939.
Our building, at number 3 rue Caron
As the stone vaults of our pretty breakfast room testify, the building of our charming hotel is very old. When you stay at the Caron Le Marais, you'll be living a moment of history while enjoying 21st century comforts, such as an individual safe, a minibar with free soft drinks and snacks, air conditioning, free wifi, a 43-inch flat-screen TV with free access to 40 recent films on demand and over 50 channels, etc.
THE CHARMING PLACE DU MARCHÉ SAINTE-CATHERINE
Turn left out of Le Caron Le Marais, and you'll be in this pretty square surrounded by buildings that all date from the late 18th century.
Its trees (Chinese mulberry trees), public benches and the terraces of its cafés and restaurants give it the atmosphere of a provincial town.
Those staying with us will be delighted by its charm and the range of restaurants just a few steps from our door.
THE SPLENDID SAINT-PAUL-SAINT-LOUIS CHURCH
This imposing 17th-century Baroque church is just a two-minute walk from Le Caron Le Marais. Bossuet preached in Saint-Paul Saint-Louis and Madame de Sévigné was a parishioner.
Its superb 55-metre dome, which lets the light in, was the inspiration for the dome of the Invalides.
A magnificent painting by Delacroix, "Christ in the Olive Garden", adorns the Chapelle du Sacré-Cœur in the left-hand transept.
In Les Misérables, Victor Hugo set the wedding of Cosette and Marius in this church.
THE EMBLEMATIC PLACE DES VOSGES
Henri IV decided to endow the Marais with this square, which is 140 meter long on each side and is located 300 metres from the Caron Le Marais. He was assassinated in 1610, and did not see it inaugurated two years later. The square, which was originally named Place Royale, did not take on its current name until the 19th century.
It is surrounded by two-storey red brick apartment blocks with slate roofs, and vaulted arcades with an identical repeating pattern on the ground floor.
At its south-east corner is the Maison de Victor Hugo, whose interior decoration, designed by the writer, is well worth a visit.
At its south-west corner, an almost hidden staircase gives access to the courtyard of honour of the Hôtel de Sully.
THE MAJESTIC HÔTEL DE SULLY
Enter the garden of this superb hotel through a porch at 62 rue Saint-Antoine (180 m from the Caron Le Marais) or via a staircase at the south-west corner of Place des Vosges.
The symmetry of its ashlar walls is typical of the homes built by the aristocracy in the 17th century.
Don't miss the pretty bookshop, with its 17th-century painted ceiling beams and joists.
The Hôtel de Sully is now home to the Centre des monuments nationaux.
