Paris Marais: Street Art Hunt & Space Invaders Game

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/6

Duration2h 15m

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Hunting Pixels in Paris: How a Video Game Turned the Marais Into a Gallery

You walk through le Marais with an artist guide, stopping at the Centre Pompidou and hidden gardens while hunting Space Invaders street art using a free app. The guide shares stories about the neighborhood's artists and styles, mixing real murals with augmented reality pieces. It's designed for families and anyone wanting a different angle on Paris—less museum, more game. You need your phone, the app downloaded, and to arrive on time.

2h 15m

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore street art in le Marais

Admire Niki de Saint Phalle fountain
View surrounding street art
Walk around Centre Pompidou architecture
Search for hidden street art treasures
Pass by Gardens of National Archives
Walk through Jewish neighbourhood street

The Experience

The tiles are small—maybe three inches across—and they're everywhere once you know where to look. Tiny pixelated figures in white and black, stuck to building corners, tucked above doorways, waiting on the sides of shutters. They're Space Invaders, and they've been colonizing Paris for years. On this tour through le Marais, you're not just walking past street art; you're hunting it, collecting it, turning the neighborhood into a game that happens to be one of the oldest quarters in the city.

The walk starts near the Centre Pompidou, where you'll stop at the fountain designed by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely—a burst of color and movement that sets the tone for what comes next. Your guide, an artist themselves, points out the building's high-tech skeleton, all exposed pipes and steel beams designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, and then shifts your eye to the street art layered around it. You download the free Space Invaders app before you go, and as you move through the neighborhood, you're scanning walls, archways, and ledges, snapping photos to add to your collection. It's part treasure hunt, part art history lesson, part just noticing things you'd normally walk past.

From there, the route takes you past the hidden gardens of the National Archives—a quiet pocket most tourists never find—and into the Jewish quarter, where the streets narrow and the character shifts. Your guide talks about the artists who've shaped the neighborhood, the different styles and techniques you're seeing, and the ones that exist only in augmented reality through the app. Families with kids seem to love this part; it keeps everyone moving, gives them something to do besides follow along, and makes the history feel less like a lecture and more like a mission.

The whole thing takes a couple of hours, and you're on foot the whole time, but the pace is steady and the neighborhood is flat. Arrive five minutes early—the group leaves on time, and if you're late, you'll be chasing them through the Marais trying to catch up. Bring your phone charged and the app installed, and wear shoes you don't mind walking in.

What’s included

Artist guide leading the walk.
stops at the Centre Pompidou fountain and building exterior.
visit to the hidden gardens of the National Archives.
walk through the Jewish quarter of le Marais.
stories about local street artists and different art styles.
access to augmented reality artworks through the free app.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Street Art Tour Paris

Is this one for you?Pick this if you want to explore le Marais beyond the usual landmarks and prefer moving around to standing in museums—the game element keeps the pace natural and gives you a reason to look at the walls instead of just passing them.