Memorial de la Shoah

No need to buy tickets ahead. There is a very secure entry that had me slightly confused. You ring a buzzer to get into a closed security area. You put your belongings thru the scanner as the guards are behind bulletproof glass. You walk thru a metal detector and they buzz a door open so you can exit. Only at that time will they allow another party to enter.

When I took this tour several years ago we walked along the street beside the Shoah (Allee des Justes) and got some history there. At that time, I'd ask the guide to show you the front door and how to enter, then I'd double back there after you have lunch. You'll have several hours this afternoon between the walking tour and your late afternoon tour of the Louvre. I'd check with the guide beforehand on timing for this because it might just be easier to meet the group near the Louvre. I think my guide offered to leave from the hotel to return to the Louvre but it would be easier to just continue your day in the Marais and meet the group later.

I'd also go to the Deportation Memorial behind Notre Dame as well.

susie, you might simply try that website again using the Google Chrome browser - when loading (most) foreign language web pages, it should offer you the option to translate the content into English. Click yes, and give it a minute to do its thing. The translation is not perfect, but usually gets you close enough to understand what's being presented.

Have you read Train in Winter or Sarah's Key?

There is no fee to enter the Shoah Memorial, just the security screening so no advance booking required. You should check their website to see if there are any special exhibits or lectures on during your time in Paris. Also, be sure to note the exterior wall along the north side of the complex which has engravings of the names of the righteous. Invalides, the war memorial which holds Napoleon’s Tomb has a section dedicated to WW2 events including the plight of Jews, the resistance and much more. I visit Paris each year and ensure I visit the Marais to soak up some Jewish culture and food. The area is steadily becoming gentrified but worth a walk through. Sacha Finlestein’s bakery/deli is worth a visit as are the street falaffel shops. Hope this helps a bit.

Thank you all for your prompt and informative replies. I'll make sure to take this place in. It sounds like there are many more places that honour the resistance and the brave souls that risked their lives. I may not be able to hit them all, but I'll go to as many places as I can. Great suggestion to get to the Memorial de la Shoah on the same day I am at the Marais district. I also have an extra day after the tour, so I may end up returning. Patty, I have read Sarah's Key and have ordered Train in Winter from the library. Have just finished The Room on Rue Amelie, as well as one of my favourites of this genre, The Paris Architect. Another very interesting book is Wine and War.

Thanks for the book recommends. Seems we have similiar taste - Wine and War is one of my favorites as is Rape of Europa. Will check out The Paris Architect and The Room on rue Amelia, (thanks). I arrive in Paris Sept 7th from Kelowna BC but going directly to Bayeux to explore that area then back in Paris Sept 13 for three weeks. Would have been fun to meet for a coffee. Unsure how far your interest extends but if you are ever in Paris on the third Sunday of the month, the Shoah offers a free shuttle to the memorial in Drancy. They recently uncovered a wall where those awaiting deportation to the camps left messages for loved ones and to record that they had been there.Bus leaves Paris Shoah at 2, returns @ 5.

There is an excellent Paris Walks tour on Paris and the Occupation if the time works for either of you. It’s so good I’ve taken it twice.

www.paris-walks.com

There are two memorials I know of connected with the deportation of the Jews in the greater Paris area. One is at Drancy, which was the horrific site. Taking the Paris train eastwards, say to Metz and beyond to Germany, you see the stop Drancy. A regional train or the RER stops there. I've not been to it.

The other site is in Compiegne, the town where the Armistice of 1918 was signed. Not far, ie within walking distance of that event , ie the railway car, the museum and monument to 1918, is the site of the deportation, where the rail tracks are. I saw that in the late 1990s, both sites in Compiegne.

You can get to Compiegne by regional train from Paris Gare du Nord.

There's also the commemorative monument at the site of the Velodrome d'Hiv, where the horrible mass deportation took place in July 1942 (the velodrome itself was torn down in the late 1950s). Near the Bir-Hakeim bridge.

http://www.petit-patrimoine.com/fiche-petit-patrimoine.php?id_pp=75115_6

Two other sights I would recommend:

Mémorial des Martys de la Déportation. It is on the Southeast corner of Île de la Cité, It is free, and I think the audio guide is free as well (you need to leave an ID or something). Although I've tried to go twice and found it closed at what I felt were unexpected hours. But I finally got in last September. Very sobering.

Père Lachaise Cemetery. If you make it there, go to the far end from central Paris (Northeast, all the way up the hill on your right, and right against the back wall). There are many memorials along this wall to many different people who were victims of the war, including several for those who died in various concentration camps.

Thank you all for your great suggestions. I should have planned another 2 weeks to see it all! I guess it means I'll have to return to Paris in the future. I like to leave a vacation without seeing everything. It keeps me coming back for more.