Although the name (swamp) sounds like some green park in the middle of the French capital, it has nothing to do with it. On the contrary, it is very urban and trendy, so if you’re looking for a little bit of Nature, go to the Bois de Boulogne or the Bois de Vincennes but certainly not to the Marais!

It was once an actual swamp, and during the 12th century, religious orders took over the area. Later, at the beginning of the 17th century, after the Place des Vosges was rebuilt, the neighbourhood suddenly became worthy of Noble people who settled en masse there. But some 150 years later, the Parisian elite decided to move to the faubourg Saint-Honoré and the faubourg Saint-Germain where they found more space. The French Revolution completed this by chasing away the last wealthy citizens.

The Grand Travaux during the 19th century didn’t have too big of an impact on the area: you’ll still be able to walk down narrow and winding streets. In 1969, André Malraux launched a program to save and protect the buildings of the neighbourhood. Today, there are lots of museums in the Marais.

Nowadays, it is a rather bohemian area where small workshops bloom, where Jewish cafés and bakeries fill every corner and trendy Gay people open fashion shops.

Although Montmartre sheltered ambitious young artists for the longest time, today, a lot of them try to make room for their paintings in one of the many art galleries of the Marais which contributes to making the neighborhood so chic and fashionable.

If you feel like travelling through your senses, go to the Rue des Rosiers where you’ll find lots of small Jewish shops. Take some time to savour some falafels or some makrouds… be careful though: many shops are closed on Saturday (Shabbat) which is the day on which Jewish people rest.

If you’d like to go shopping, pamper yourself by going to one of these original and trendy clothes shops, wander in the beautiful streets and stop by the interior design and craft workshops. Whatever you want, the Marais is THE place to be. Go loaf around with your loved one, or hunt for the perfect gift with some friends, the Marais has so much to offer!

At night, don’t miss out on the many cozy bars and cafés-théâtres where many famous actors started their careers. Try and get some information on the artist you’re about to see, he or she could turn out to be a rising star!

Fancy and trendy, the Marais offers many expensive hotels that are sometimes disappointing… to make sure you’ll have the time of your life, rent apartments in Paris!

Each addict of good rock music shouldn’t miss this festival. During the weekend of the 28th till 30th of August, Paris celebrates the fantastic Rock en Seine Festival which is directed especially to the maniacs of music culture. Artists and impressive bands, like Oasis, Bloc Party, The Offspring, The Prodigy, Yann Tiersen, Amy Macdonald and lots more, are waiting passionately to rock their audience in the city of lights.

The wonderful Saint-Cloud Park, created by the famous Le Nôtre in the 18th century, offers you more than 460 hectares of green open space, uncountable gardens, lakes, little forests and waterfalls which are extended to the Seine. It’s without a doubt a perfect place for Rock en Seine 2009 - one of the most spectacular festivals of the year.

The festival was founded in 2003 and celebrates its 7th edition this year. The festival will organize more than 40 spectacular concerts on three different stages. Rock en Seine belongs to the most important festivals of the international rock music scene. The concerts of Muse, The White Stripes, Radiohead, Beck, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand or the Pixies in the last editions show us the high quality of this event.

Rock en Seine doesn’t only offer you good music, but also it invites the audience to discover the rock music through different kinds of art, like photography, illustrations and graffiti etc. Different expositions and creative art workshops will also be organised and the little ones will enjoy this festival, too. There will be uncountable exciting activities just waiting for your little kids.

In addition there will be various areas dedicated to a lot of topics. The area Rockfolio is a spectacular exposition of photography with breath-taking snapshots of important international rocks stars. Rock en clips presents you the musical universe through wild videoclips and Rock en bulles (comic strips) spoils you with drawings and comics of the Rock en Seine 2009. All these areas show you a different point of view of the festival.

As in each big festival, you can camp as well at the Rock en Seine. A huge green space, wonderful meadows, a starry sky and pure nature are waiting for you!

At the Rock en Seine you will get to meet a lot of people from all over the world. Take the chance, book a trip to the city of lights and discover the event of the year. If you want to visit the French capital afterwards, then you should rent apartments in Paris: the best and cheapest alternative for a wonderful weekend.