4th arrondissement of Paris : the Bas-Marais

The 4th arrondissement of Paris is one of the city’s most historic and vibrant districts, located on the Right Bank of the Seine. It is home to iconic landmarks, picturesque streets, and a mix of medieval charm and modern energy. The Marais district is partly in the 4th arrondissement (It is then sometimes called “the Bas-Marais”), the rest of the Marais is in the 3rd arrondissement, just to the north (“the Haut-Marais”).

For a general view of the 20 arrondissements of Paris click on Which is the best arrondissement to stay in Paris?

Atmosphere of the 4th arrondissement of Paris

The 4th arrondissement blends history, culture, and nightlife. It is lively, with boutique shops, cafés, and cultural institutions. The Marais is particularly known for its LGBTQ+ scene, Jewish heritage, and artistic vibe.

Map of the 4th Arrondissement of Paris

[elfsight_google_maps id=”28″] 

Key Features and Landmarks

• Île de la Cité – The heart of medieval Paris, where you’ll find Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Sainte-Chapelle with its stunning stained glass, and the Conciergerie, a former royal palace and prison.
• Le Marais – A trendy and historic neighborhood known for narrow cobblestone streets, 17th-century mansions, art galleries, and the Jewish Quarter around Rue des Rosiers.
• Place des Vosges – One of Paris’ most beautiful squares, surrounded by elegant red-brick buildings and home to the Victor Hugo Museum.
• Hôtel de Ville – The impressive city hall of Paris, with a grand neo-Renaissance façade and a lively public square.
• Centre Pompidou – A bold modern-art museum with a unique inside-out design and a vibrant plaza with street performers.

The astonishing profusion of touristic points of interest in the 4th arrondissement of Paris

Religious buildings

• Cathédrale Notre-Dame – Admire the stunning Gothic architecture. Though the interior is closed for restoration (reopened in December, 2024), you can still enjoy the exterior and nearby Shakespeare and Company bookstore. For more click on Notre-Dame-de-Paris: a martyred cathedral that will be reborn in 2024

• Sainte-Chapelle – A breathtaking chapel with some of the most beautiful stained-glass windows in the world (In fact, on the border with the 1st arrondissement). See our Sainte-Chapelle, masterpiece touched by grace, once threatened to disappear – Booking Sainte Chapelle.

• Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais church generally known as Saint-Gervais church, is located on Place Saint-Gervais in the Saint-Gervais district. On March 29, 1918, a German shell fired from a Pariser Kanonen cannon, misnamed Grosse Bertha, fell on the church, killing 92 people and wounding 68 others. The shell pulverized the roof of the nave during the Good Friday service. It was the deadliest bombing raid of the war. Some traces of this event remain on the pillar at the west corner of the nave and south transept.

• Saint-Louis-en-l’Île Church is located on Île Saint-Louis, at the corner of rue Saint-Louis-en-l’Île and rue Poulletier. The building was constructed in several stages between 1624 and 1726. Its patron saint is Saint Louis, King of France. The church hosts numerous concerts of classical church music throughout the year.

• Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis Church. It is a Catholic church built in the 17th century by the Jesuit architects Étienne Martellange and François Derand, on the orders of Louis XIII. The double titling of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis church was inherited from the French Revolution. On February 15, 1843, Léopoldine Hugo married Charles Vacquerie in the strictest privacy. To mark the occasion, her father Victor Hugo donated two holy-water fonts. On February 10, 1887, the church was listed as a historic monument. In Les Misérables, writer Victor Hugo uses the church as the setting for the wedding of Cosette and Marius.

• Saint-Merri Church whose main church facade is at 78, and rue de la Verrerie. The church of Saint-Merry is considered one of the “four daughters” of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Built between 1500 and 1565, at the height of the Renaissance period, it is nevertheless in the flamboyant Gothic style, and because of its architecture similar to that of the cathedral, it also bears the nickname “Notre-Dame la petite”. The church boasts one of the most prestigious organs in Paris, as well as a large collection of 17th and 19th century paintings.

• Lutheran church and Billettes cloister. The Eglise des Billettes, with its cloister, is a Protestant Lutheran parish located at 24, rue des Archives in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. It belongs to the United Protestant Church of France. The present church and the facade to the right of the portal were built in 1754-1758 to a design by Jacques Hardouin-Mansart de Sagonne.

• Rue des Tournelle Synagogues is a Sephardic Constantinian consistorial Jewish place of worship. The building was constructed in 1876 and is located at 21 bis rue des Tournelles, in the heart of the Marais district of Paris.

• Place des Vosges Synagogue. It dates from 1963 and is located at 14 Place des Vosges, on the 1st floor of the Hôtel de Ribault.

• Temple protestant du Marais, former convent of the Visitation Sainte-Marie

• Tour Saint-Jacques. The tower is the only vestige of the Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie church, whose new bell tower was built between 1509 and 1523.

Museums and cultural institutions in the 4th arrondissement of Paris

• Centre national d’art et de culture Georges-Pompidou et musée national d’art moderne – – A must-visit for contemporary art lovers. The rooftop offers a panoramic view of Paris. See our Pompidou Museum of modern and contemporary art – Buildings and collections – Booking Pompidou Museum

• Victor Hugo’s House – Explore the home of the famous author in the stunning Place des Vosges. For more click on Victor-Hugo-House, where he wrote major works as “Les Misérables”

• Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal. The Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal is part of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. It is located at 1 rue de Sully, in the former Paris arsenal founded by King François I in the 16th century, then rebuilt by Sully. Today, the Arsenal library holds over a million documents (including 150,000 volumes dating from before 1880), just over 15,000 manuscripts, 100,000 prints, and 3,000 maps and plans. It also boasts over 150,000 titles of closed periodicals and some 250 living journals. Its acquisitions policy focuses on French literature from the 16th to the 19th century.

• Forney Library is part of the network of heritage and specialized libraries of the City of Paris, its collections having developed around the decorative arts, crafts and their techniques, fine arts and graphic arts. It regularly organizes exhibitions.

• Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris (Paris Historical Library) is a public library specializing in the history of Paris and the Île-de-France region. Part of the Paris municipal library network, it has been located since 1969 in the Hôtel d’Angoulême or de Lamoignon, at 24, rue Pavée, in the 4th arrondissement.

• Pavillon de l’Arsenal (Arsenal Pavilion) is the “Centre d’information, de documentation et d’exposition d’urbanisme et d’architecture de Paris et de la métropole parisienne”. It is located at 21, boulevard Morland in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, in the heart of the Arsenal district.

• Pôle Simon Lefranc, centre d’animation de la ville de Paris

Civil monuments and buildings

• Musée Carnavalet – A free museum dedicated to the history of Paris, housed in a beautiful mansion in the Marais ((In fact, on the border with the 3rd arrondissement)

• Colonne de Juillet, place de la Bastille. See our Column of la Bastille and July revolution of 1830 – A memorial and a tomb

• Remains of Philippe Auguste’s enclosure still visible at the15 rue de l’Ave-Maria, 9 à 15 rue Charlemagne, 17, 19, 21 rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul, 7 rue de Sévigné, 57, 59 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 8, 10, 14, 16 rue des Rosiers

• Hôtel-Dieu, The oldest hospital in Paris, founded in 651 by the Parisian bishop Saint Landry, it was a symbol of charity and hospitality. It was rebuilt from 1867 to 1878 by architects Émile Jacques Gilbert (1793-1874) and Arthur-Stanislas Diet (1827-1890) on the Île de la Cité. Its future is uncertain. The emergency department is partially closed, and it seems that a museum will be set up on part of the hospital’s grounds.

• Hôtel de Beauvais and Paris Administrative Court of Appeal
• Hôtel de Sully and National Monuments Administrative Centre
• Hôtel de Sens and Forney Library
• Hôtel d’Aumont and Paris Administrative Court

• Mémorial de la Shoah (Shoah Memorial) – For more information see our The Jews of Paris – History – The Shoah – List of memorial sites and Memorial of the Unknown Jewish Martyr, Wall of the Righteous and Wall of Names

• Lycée Charlemagne
• Commercial court
• Préfecture de police (Police headquarters)

• Crédit municipal de Paris (Paris municipal credit). Since 1637, the establishment has been offering pawnbroking, a form of credit that involves pawning a valuable object (jewelry, silverware, paintings, sculptures, tapestries, glassware, musical instruments) in exchange for an immediate loan representing 50-70% of the object’s value on the public auction market.  55, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75004. To knowmore Francs-Bourgeois Street, named after a hospital for “miserable bourgeois”. In 1334.

• Hôtel de ville de Paris (Hôtel de ville de Paris) is the building that has housed Paris’ municipal institutions since 1357. As Paris has seen a number of insurrections, the Hôtel de Ville has often been a rallying point for rioters, insurgents and revolutionaries. From Étienne Marcel to the Fronde, from the Revolution to the revolutionary days of July 1830 and February 1848, from the Commune to the Liberation of Paris, the town hall is a place steeped in history.

• Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville. It’s part of the department stores, but a little apart from them. In 2020, Le BHV Marais was organized into different areas, from home and decoration, to women, men and childdren fashion, bathroom, bedding, etc. From Le BHV Marais, you can reach the Italian market Eataly Paris Marais (also part of the Galeries Lafayette group), via courtyards that were previously private and are now open to the public, and then up to rue du Plâtre.

• Célestins quarter of the Republican Guard. The Garde républicaine (GR), created by Napoléon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Republic, in 1802, and officially known as the “Garde républicaine de Paris” between 1870 and 1978, is today a subdivision of the Gendarmerie nationale, providing honor and security for France’s highest state authorities, as well as public safety. It also contributes to France’s cultural influence through its musical and special formations. Finally, it carries out assistance, training and cooperation missions, both in France and abroad. It will comprise around 3,300 men and women in 2019 – both military and civilian3,4. It comprises a cavalry regiment, two infantry regiments, a motorcycle squadron5 and musical formations including the Republican Guard orchestra and the French Army choir. See July 14th, France’s national holiday – Origin, evolution, history

• Conciergerie – A former medieval palace-turned-prison where Marie Antoinette was held before her execution (In fact, on the border with the 1st arrondissement)

Squares of the 4th arrondissement of Paris

• Place-des-Vosges square in the trendy Marais district of Paris
• Parvis Notre-Dame – place Jean-Paul-II
• Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville
• Place de la Bastille – Click on Bastille-Day, as if you were there
• Place des Combattantes-et-Combattants-du-Sida (Pletzl)

Le village Saint-Paul (Saint-Paul Village)

Nestled in the heart of the Marais district, a place steeped in history reveals itself as you stroll through the narrow streets typical of this Parisian neighborhood. Today, Village Saint-Paul is home to some 80 shops, mainly focused on antiques, second-hand goods, design and arts and crafts. As you stroll along, you can also stop off at one of the restaurants and tearooms to enjoy the very special atmosphere of Village Saint-Paul.

History of the 4th arrondissement of Paris

The eastern part of the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis are also part of the 4th arrondissement.

The first settlements on the Île de la Cité may date back to Gallic times (1st century).

The expansion of housing on the right bank dates back to the 5th century, with the construction of the Saint-Gervais sanctuary. In the 9th century, Saint-Gervais was protected by an enclosure that was probably located at rue de Rivoli and extended all the way to the Seine, from rue des Barres to rue de la Tacherie. The town grew up around the Marché de Grève (now Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville) from the 11th century onwards.

The current boundaries of the 4th arrondissement were established in 1860, under the Second Empire, following the law of June 16, 1859, which divided Paris into 20 arrondissements.

Since the end of the 19th century, the Marais district has been home to a large Jewish community. Rue des Rosiers is its main square, home to a large number of kosher restaurants and stores illustrating Jewish culture. These have been increasingly replaced by clothing stores since the street was renovated in the early 2000s.

Since the 1990s, a now sizeable homosexual community has moved into the Hôtel de Ville district, with a number of bars and restaurants flying the community’s rainbow flag, notably on rue des Archives and in the streets bordering the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville.

The 4th arrondissement has a population of only 28,370 (2017 census) and a density of 17,731 inhabitants per km².

An arrondissement for strolling and shopping

• Le Marais – A great area to wander through narrow streets, discover art galleries, and boutique shops.
• Rue des Rosiers – The heart of the Jewish Quarter, known for delicious falafel (try L’As du Fallafel).
• Village Saint-Paul – A hidden gem full of antique shops and quiet courtyards.
• Parks & Relaxation
  • Place des Vosges – One of the most beautiful squares in Paris, perfect for a picnic or a relaxing afternoon.
  • Quai de l’Hôtel de Ville & Île Saint-Louis – Walk along the Seine and Notre-Dame. Grab some famous Berthillon ice cream. Walk along the Seine can also be taken in the evening.

Food & Drinks you find in the 4th arrondissement of Paris

The 4th arrondissement offers a mix of trendy bars, cozy cafés, and fine dining spots. Whether you’re looking for a stylish cocktail bar, a lively LGBTQ+ club, or a romantic dinner, here are some top recommendations:

• Carette (Place des Vosges) – A lovely spot for coffee, pastries, or hot chocolate.
• BHV Marais Rooftop Bar (Le Perchoir Marais) – Great cocktails with a stunning view of Paris.
• L’Ambroisie – A 3-Michelin-star restaurant for an unforgettable fine dining experience.

Nightlife & other Restaurants in the 4th Arrondissement

Best Restaurants, Casual & Local Favorites

1. L’As du Fallafel – Famous for its delicious falafel sandwiches (best enjoyed while strolling through the Marais).
2. Chez Janou – A lively Provençal bistro near Place des Vosges, known for its pastis selection and chocolate mousse.
3. Benoit – A classic Michelin-starred French bistro with authentic Parisian cuisine (try the escargots!).

Fine Dining & Gastronomy

4. L’Ambroisie – One of the best Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, located in a historic mansion on Place des Vosges.
5. Le Saint Régis – A charming, elegant brasserie on Île Saint-Louis, great for a romantic dinner.
6. Les Philosophes – A great mix of classic French dishes and a lively atmosphere in the heart of the Marais.

Best Bars & Cocktails Trendy Cocktail Bars

7. Little Red Door – A speakeasy-style cocktail bar with creative drinks, ranked among the best bars in the world.
8. Sherry Butt – An intimate, stylish bar known for its whiskey selection and craft cocktails.

Lively & Social Bars

10. La Belle Hortense – A unique combination of bookstore and wine bar, perfect for a relaxed evening.
11. Le Pick Clops – A quirky, retro café-bar with a fun, casual vibe in the Marais.
12. Les Souffleurs – A hidden gem in the LGBTQ+ scene, offering great cocktails and a cozy atmosphere.

Best LGBTQ+ Nightlife (Le Marais Scene)

13. Raidd Bar – Famous for its shower shows and lively dance floor.
14. Café Cox – A popular meeting spot for the gay community with a buzzing terrace.

Special Occasion & Date Night – Recommendations in the 4th Arrondissement of Paris

Whether you’re celebrating an anniversary, a romantic date, a birthday, or a group gathering, here are some top picks tailored to different vibes:

Romantic Date Night

1. Le Saint Régis (💖 Cozy & Intimate) – A charming brasserie on Île Saint-Louis, offering candlelit dinners with delicious French cuisine. Perfect for a classic Parisian date!
2. L’Ambroisie (⭐ Ultimate Luxury) – A 3-Michelin-star experience in a historic mansion at Place des Vosges. For a once-in-a-lifetime gourmet dinner.
3. Georges (Centre Pompidou) (🌆 Stunning Views) – A rooftop restaurant with breathtaking views of Paris, ideal for a romantic sunset dinner.

Birthday Celebration & Group Dinner

4. Chez Janou (🎉 Fun & Lively) – A Provençal bistro near Place des Vosges with great food, friendly vibes, and giant bowls of chocolate mousse to share!
5. Les Chouettes (🍷 Chic & Stylish) – A trendy restaurant with a beautiful interior and a great wine list, perfect for group celebrations.

Fancy Cocktails & Late-Night Drinks

7. Little Red Door (🍸 World-Class Cocktails) – A speakeasy-style cocktail bar with creative, award-winning drinks and a romantic ambiance.
8. Sherry Butt (🕶️ Intimate & Stylish) – A hidden cocktail bar with a cozy, elegant atmosphere—ideal for couples or small groups.
9. Le Mary Celeste (🥂 Social & Fun) – A trendy cocktail and oyster bar with a cool crowd and delicious drinks.

Party & Dancing (Late-Night Fun)

10. Raidd Bar (💦 Wild & Fun) – A legendary LGBTQ+ bar known for its shower shows, DJs, and electric atmosphere.
11. La Mezcaleria (🔥 Hidden Bar with a Twist) – A secret mezcal bar inside a hotel, hidden behind a kitchen—great for a cool, unexpected experience.