Le Marais is a trendy shopping district that blends storied architecture with its wealth of hotel particuliers (historical French townhouses), charming streets, and small shops. Its neighborhood origins date back to the Order of the Temple which built its church in the Marais in 1240, which at the time was outside the Paris city walls. It evolved to a distinguished residential neighborhood full of palatial homes and ultimately, King Henri IV had a royal square designed in 1605…now called Place des Vosges.