Bastille to Victor Hugo : A Historic Walk Through the Arsenal

The district owes its name to the presence, since 1533, of the King's Arsenal or Grand-Arsenal, which extended along the Seine, from the rue du Petit-Musc, to the enclosure of Charles V. Under Louis XIV, the Arsenal became an arms store and served as a chamber of justice. In 1757, the Marquis de Paulmy d'Argenson (1722-1787), bailiff of the artillery, created a library there, known today as the Arsenal library, one of the most important in Paris in the 19th century .

Places to Visit

PLACE DES VOSGES

Designed by Louis Métezeau , Place Vosges is the oldest square in Paris, just before Place Dauphine . It is a closed square, accessible by a main street on one of the four sides and two streets passing under pavilions. Ths is one of the few parks in the city that allows you to be on the grass and is a fantastic place to picnic after visiting the Marché Bastille, just a few blocks away. FREE. INSIDERS TIPS: Find Jardin de l'Hôtel de Sully on your map phone application - there’s a hidden access and door right there on the corner alley of Places des Vosges. Skip Carette’s over-priced meals and head inside to their pastisserie bar for an oversized vanilla macaron to go.

MAISON VICTOR HUGO

After your picnic in the gardens of Place des Vosges, visit the apartment of Victor Hugo, in the same location. Victor Hugo rented the apartment on the second floor for sixteen years, from 1832 to 1848 and received his friends Lamartine, Alfred de Vigny, Alexandre Dumas, Honoré de Balzac, Prosper Mérimée, and Sainte-Beuve. This is one of three literary museums in Paris and it includes a fascinating collection of Victor Hugo’s objects, manuscripts, photographs, and original furniture. The permanent exhibition is FREE.

PLACE DE LA BASTILLE

Place de la Bastille is a square and symbolic place of the French Revolution, where the old fortress of the Bastille was destroyed between July 14, 1789 and July 14, 1790. A royal decree of July 6, 1831 prescribed the erection of a funerary monument in honor of the victims of the three days. The first stone was laid by King Louis-Philippe I on the 27th. The column of July is of Corinthian order; inscriptions, palms, crowns of immortelles, oak branches, the arms of the City, the Gallic rooster and the lion, astronomical symbol of the month of July adorn the pedestal. It was inaugurated in 1840.

CANAL ST MARTIN

Leaving Place de la Bastille in the direction of the River Seine, choose the left side of Canal Saint-Martin to drop down into the lovely gardens that border the water. Admire the house boats that are moored here year around. You’ll eventually run into the river Seine. I suggest making the easy walk across the river to Jardin des Plantes. Or you can continue along the river to visit Ile Saint-Louis and Ile de Cité. If you’re staying near Montmartre, I also suggest the Bassin de la Villette. Stroll the quai, picnic along the water, rent little boats to toodle around in. There’s also a great brasserie, Paname Brewing Company, and my fav eclectic coffee shop, Le Pavillon des Canaux (go upstairs for a fun surprise!).