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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Librairie Présence Africaine

Specialist on books on Africa, as the name suggests. Good information point, too, if you want to eat African food or hear African music.
L’pi Dupin

The dishes are sublime, such as cod with saffron leeks.
L’ssignat

Pleasant, bright family-run bar, full of regulars propping up the bar with a beer or a glass of wine.
Marché Biologique

This organic Sunday morning market brings together some of the best farmers in the region.
Mezzanine

The place to see and be seen. The beer, wine and cocktails are not expensive given the buzz and the wonderful location.
Musée d’Orsay
Musée d’Orsay Bookshop

As well as its wonderful collections, the museum has a bewilderingly large and busy art bookshop (see Musée d’Orsay).
Musée Maillol

Dina Vierny, who modelled for the artist Aristide Maillol (1861–1944) from the ages of 15 to 25, went on to set up this foundation dedicated largely to his works. Set in an 18th-century mansion, it features his sculpture, paintings, drawings, engravings and terracotta works. A wonderful collection of works by other 20th-century artists, many of whom worked in Paris, including Picasso, Matisse, Dufy, Duchamp, Kandinsky and Poliakoff, is also on show.
Musée National du Moyen-Age

This impressive mansion, one of the oldest in Paris, was built by the abbots of Cluny in 1330 and now houses a magnificent collection of medieval art, from Gallo-Roman antiquity to the 15th century. It adjoins the ruins of 2nd-century Roman baths (thermes ) with their huge vaulted frigidarium (cold bath). Nearby are the 21 carved stone heads of the kings of Judea from Notre-Dame, decapitated during the Revolution. The museum’s highlight is the exquisite Lady and the Unicorn tapestry series, representing the five senses.
Panthéon

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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