Jewish heritage walk of Le Marais review: the two-hour option
My verdict: the shorter, gentler cousin of the Marais and Montmartre walk. Two hours in the Marais only, exteriors only, in English, French, Italian or Spanish, as a private or small-group walk. It rates 4.2 from 46 reviews, and the reviews that exist are about the guides: their humour, their pace, their eye for a doorway. If you have an afternoon rather than a day, or you want the walk in Italian or Spanish, this is the one. If you want the Shoah Memorial and the synagogue interior, book the longer one.
What it is
A two-hour loop through the Marais. The route runs from the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis to the courtyards of the Village Saint-Paul, along rue des Rosiers with its bakeries and kosher delis, into the place des Vosges, past the Hôtel de Sully, down rue des Francs-Bourgeois and out at the Hôtel de Ville. Everything is seen from the street; nothing is entered. The meeting point is in front of the Trattoria Marguerite at 2 quai de Gesvres, by the river opposite the Hôtel de Ville. Not suitable for wheelchair users, according to the listing, which given the courtyard cobbles I believe.
For a Camondo reader this is background rather than biography. The Marais is the old Jewish quarter of Paris; the Camondos were the other kind of Parisian Jewish family, arriving with a bank and a title and building on the new Monceau plain in 1869. Walking rue des Rosiers after reading about Moïse and his Petit-Trianon house shows you how wide the distance between the two worlds was, and how little it counted by 1943. The Camondo family page draws the two together.
Usually included
- Two-hour guided walk of the Marais
- Guide in English, French, Italian or Spanish
- Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, Village Saint-Paul, rue des Rosiers, place des Vosges, Hôtel de Sully, rue des Francs-Bourgeois
- Private or small-group format
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Not included
- Entry to any building — exteriors only
- The Shoah Memorial and the Guimard synagogue interior (see the longer walk)
- Food from the rue des Rosiers bakeries, though you will want some
- Wheelchair access
What the reviewers say
Forty-six reviews, which is enough to trust the tone if not the decimals. Hinal, from Canada, wrote that her guide, Sylvie, “tailored it to our questions and pace” and had a “good sense of humour”. James, from the United Kingdom: “Martin was a brilliant and friendly guide who really knew his stuff.” Sharon, from the United States, said her guide, Hugo, “pointed out details about buildings I would not have known”, which is the best thing you can say about an exteriors-only walk, because details on facades are all it has to offer.
The 4.2 rather than a 4.9 is, as far as I can read it, the format. Two hours of street fronts is a modest promise, and people who wanted to go inside something come away wanting more. That is a reason to pick the right walk, not a reason to avoid this one.
What works
- Two hours: fits an afternoon that also has to hold a museum
- Four languages, including Italian and Spanish, which the longer walk lacks
- Guides who tailor pace and answer questions, by every review quoted
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Worth knowing
- Exteriors only; nothing is entered
- No Shoah Memorial stop and no synagogue interior
- Not suitable for wheelchair users
- 4.2 from 46 reviews: the sample is small and the format is modest
Book the earliest slot and eat afterwards on rue des Rosiers, when you know which bakery the guide pointed at. Then take line 1 from Hôtel de Ville and change for Monceau or Villiers to walk the Camondo quarter before the light goes; the how to get there page has the stations.
Who should book it
Visitors with two hours, not four. Italian and Spanish speakers who want a Jewish Marais walk in their own language. Anyone who wants the Camondo family placed against the older Jewish Paris without a half-day commitment.
Who should skip it: anyone who wants to go inside a synagogue or stand at the Shoah Memorial, which the Marais and Montmartre walk does; wheelchair users; and anyone whose priority is the house on rue de Monceau, which the Haussmann walk reaches and this one does not. The all tours page compares the whole set.
Other listings to consider
Small groupParis: Le Marais & Montmartre Jewish History Walking Tour
Passes Parc MonceauHaussmannian Paris 2-Hour Private Walking Tour
Same institutionParis: Museum of Decorative Arts Ticket and City Audio Tour
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from the Marais and Montmartre Jewish history tour?
Shorter, one neighbourhood, exteriors only, and available in Italian and Spanish as well as English and French. The longer walk adds the Shoah Memorial exterior, the Guimard synagogue interior where possible, and Montmartre, over three and a half hours with a group capped at nine.
Does the walk go inside any buildings?
No. Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, the Village Saint-Paul courtyards, the Hôtel de Sully and the place des Vosges are all seen from outside. Reviewers like Sharon valued the guide pointing out details on the buildings themselves; go in expecting that rather than interiors.
What does this have to do with the Musée Nissim de Camondo?
The Camondos were a Jewish family whose Paris branch ended in the deportations of 1943 and 1944, and the Marais is the city’s old Jewish quarter. The house itself, at 63 rue de Monceau in the 8th, is closed until the end of 2029. The Camondo family page connects the two.