From the high middle ages until the French Revolution the Marais was one of the most distinguished residential neighborhoods in Paris. Unlike much of the rest of Paris, history has kindly spared the Marais leaving us with a veritable museum of aristocratic domestic architecture. During this two hour informal promenade we will visit some of the more extraordinary architectural vestiges of this neighborhood. From the heavily fortified h么tel de Sens to the daintily Rococo interiors of the h么tel de Soubise we will discuss how the forms and character of 茅lite domestic life shifted and changed from the late medieval period up until the end of the Ancien Regime.
The visit will begin in the garden of the H么tel de Sens (now the Biblioth猫que Fornay) at the corner of the Rue des Nonnains d'Hy猫re and the Rue de l'H么tel de Ville at 10:30 am.
Moderator: Gabriel Wick
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