Paris: The Bourgeois Marsh

Paris- the 3rd and 4th arrondissements
The Bourgeois Marsh
Distance: 4.2 miles, about 6.8 km
Start and Finish: Saint-Sébastien-Froissart Métro Station

This run goes through a district called Le Marais (The Marsh) on the right side of the river bank, which was cleared of its marshlands back in the 12th century. Today the area has a bustling Jewish community, with Jewish events going on, Jewish bookstores and restaurants that serve kosher foods; giving you lots of options for how to spend your "cool down." There are several fine and decorative art museums in the area, including the Picasso Museum, to notice along the way. The run takes you on to the Ile de la Cite, still considered by many as the heart of the city, so that you can pass the Notre Dame for a closer look, without waiting in the long lines. The Ile de la Cite is linked with both banks by the oldest bridge of Paris, the Pont Neuf, which isn't en route but can easily be added as a detour. In general a good run for an artistic eye for checking out hidden details in the streets of Paris that usually go unnoticed.

- Starting at the Saint-Sébastien-Froissart Métro Station, run south along Blvd. Beaumarchais, towards the river.
- At the Bastille roundabout, take Rue Lyon (more or less still straight from the direction you came from). On that, take your first right, on Blvd de la Bastille until Quai de la Rapée and take another right but one until the next intersection where you will turn around and head back the way you came and the way back the Bastille roundabout. This time go left on Blvd. Henri IV.
- Take a right, near the water, at Quai Henri IV/ Quai des Célestins until the Pont Maries and cross the water there to Saint-Louis Island. Take a right on the island until the Pont Saint-Louis bridge that will get you onto the Ile de la Cite. Follow the right side of the island and cross back to the mainland on Pont d'Arcole.
- Stay straight until the Hotel de Ville and take a right and follow that main road until the left turn for the Place des Vosges.
- Follow the street around the the right, passed the Victor Hugo house and take a right on Rue du Pas de la Mule. That will take you back to Blvd. Beaumarchais, which you follow back to the starting point.

Posted by Carl_4sho