One of the best-preserved historic districts of Paris, the Marais, is famous for its town houses or hôtels particuliers built by the nobility and the Paris judicial aristocracy in the 16th and 17th centuries. Our walk will take us into the courtyards and gardens of the hôtels de Sens, Sully, Lamoignon, Carnavalet and others as well as to the first royal square in Paris, the Place des Vosges built by Henri IV in 1606. We will see how Gothic architecture and decoration disappear in favor of the Italian-inspired Renaissance style of the 16th century, leading to the emergence of a French baroque and Classical style by the reign of Louis XIV. Contemporary views of the district will be juxtaposed to historical paintings, prints and maps evoking the past and life in the Marais in the 17th and 18th centuries.