France · Île-de-France · Paris
Porte Saint-Martin, Paris — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Porte Saint-Martin centres on a 1674 gateway in Paris, close to the Musée des Arts et Métiers and the House of Nicolas Flamel.
About Porte Saint-Martin
Where to stay in Porte Saint-Martin
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Two boulevards meet here. A room by the gateway sits where Boulevard Saint-Martin and Boulevard Saint-Denis run together and Rue Saint-Martin arrives from the south, which is an address on the grands boulevards rather than a side street. The museum walk starts nearby.
The Centre Georges Pompidou, the Musée des Arts et Métiers and Lafayette Anticipations lie in different directions from the arch, and square Émile-Chautemps supplies the quarter with its patch of open ground.
About Porte Saint-Martin
What are the main landmarks in Porte Saint-Martin?
The gateway dates from 1674. It marks one of the gates of the destroyed fortifications of Paris, at the point where Rue Saint-Martin becomes Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin. Old houses survive around it.
The House of Nicolas Flamel, the smallest house of Paris and the building at 3, rue Volta are the domestic curiosities, with Hôtel de Vic, Hôtel Beaubrun and Hôtel Pottier de Blancmesnil among the townhouses. Churches close the list: Saint-Merri, Saint-Nicholas-des-Champs, Saint-Laurent and Église Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Hongrie.
What is the history of Porte Saint-Martin?
The fortifications are gone. Porte Saint-Martin stands on the site of one of their gates, rebuilt in 1674, and the road it guarded still runs through as Rue Saint-Martin and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin. Older fabric survives in fragments.
The Saint-Jacques Tower and the Petit Châtelet belong to that earlier Paris, as do the House of Nicolas Flamel and the addresses recorded at rue Meslay, rue de Braque and rue Saint-Merri. Then the boulevards arrived. Boulevard Saint-Martin and Boulevard Saint-Denis meet where the gate stood, which leaves the quarter a crossing rather than an edge.
Where is Porte Saint-Martin?
Central Paris, on the grands boulevards. Rue Saint-Martin runs in from the south to the gateway, and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin carries on north.
Good for
More areas in Paris
Updated September 2026