France

Discover the historical and multicultural diversity of the Marais, the heart of the Jewish quarter around rue des Rosiers. With its many cafes, restaurants, clubs, fashion boutiques and “maisons et objects” stores, it is the center of Paris’s vibrant gay community. In the area you will also find the oldest house (1407) in Paris. Learn about the time when Marais was once a state within a state owned by the powerful Order of Knights Templar, founded in the Holy Land to protect pilgrims. By the 13th century it had its own international banking system and had become independent of the crown.