DK Travel : Paris : St-Germain, Latin and Luxembourg Quarters

This area of the left bank is possibly the most stimulating in Paris. St-Germain-des-Prés, centred around the city’s oldest church, is a synonym for Paris’s café society, made famous by the writers and intellectuals who held court here in the first half of the 20th century. Although it’s more touristy today, a stroll around the back streets reveals lovely old houses plastered with plaques noting famous residents. The Latin Quarter takes its name from the Latin spoken by students of the Sorbonne until the Revolution. The scholastic centre of Paris for more than 700 years, it continues to buzz with student bookshops, cafés and jazz clubs. It was also the site of a Roman settlement and remains from that era can be seen in the Musée du Moyen-Age. The area’s western boundary is the bustling boulevard Saint-Michel and to the south is the tranquil greenery of the Luxembourg Quarter.

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Le Coupe-Chou

Romantic candlelit atmosphere. Boeuf bourguignon is one of the typical traditional dishes.
Le Mauzac

Friendly wine bar with a terrace for the summer, and there’s a bistro too if you want to eat. Plenty of inexpensive wines by the glass, carafe or bottle.
Le Petit St-Benoît

Camus, de Beauvoir and James Joyce are among the many writers who once took their daily coffee here.
Le Procope

The oldest café in Paris, this was a meeting place for writers such as Voltaire, Hugo, Balzac and Zola.
Le Relais Louis XIII

A 16th-century house with classic cooking. Try lobster ravioli.
Le Sélect

F Scott Fitzgerald and Truman Capote were among many American writers who drank in this café-restaurant.
Les Bookinistes

This bistro, owned by Guy Savoy, offers creative cooking at affordable prices.
Les Deux Magots

This was home to the literary and artistic élite of Paris as well as a regular haunt of Surrealists such as François Mauriac.
Librairie Gourmande

Foodies should head for this haven, where cookbooks in several languages are available, along with posters and other food-related items.
Librairie Maeght

Specialist in books on art adjoining the Maeght art gallery, with a good collection of posters, postcards and other items.

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Restaurant price categories

For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and charges included.
- under €30
- €30–40
- €40–50
- €50–60
- over €60