Chronicles from Paris | Quartier Latin

Crossing the Seine, opposite the Ile de la Cité, is the Latin Quarter (Quartier Latin). Dominated since the middle ages by the Sorbonne, owes its name to the language that was spoken by the students of this university.

Full of life, today its main attractions are the bookstores, cafes, restaurants and jazz clubs. Boulevard St-Michel teems with activity and commerce, but in the maze of streets that cross the neighborhood can be found unconventional and very interesting shops.

Among the major historic buildings there can be found, the highlight goes to the Pantheon, built in the eighteenth century, Le Musée National du Moyen Age, which is installed in a magnificent fifteenth century building, the church of St-Julien-le-Pauvre and the beautiful St-Séverin church, in Gothic style with its gargoyles and lancet windows.

Its also on the Latin Quarter that you can find the famous Shakespeare & Company Bookstore very close to René Viviani Square, wherefrom you can have a beautiful view of Notre Dame (see next photo). Boulevard St. Michel has, also, lots of bookshops, many with big sales.

At the end of Boulevard St-Michel, close to the Seine, you find Place St-Michel where is a fountain by Davioud, with a beautiful statue, by Duret, of Saint Michael killing the dragon.

But what fascinated me most was the small street market of Place Maubert (opens on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays), full of colorful fruits, vegetables and delicious delicatessens. The impressive sympathy of producers and sellers and the quality of products made this one of the highlights of the day.

We tasted this and that, bought fruit to eat during the day and were sorry for not being able to bring so many delicious things there were. The cheese lover in me could not keep away from the heavenly Fromagerie Laurent Dubois that stands in the same square. I must warn you, if you go to Paris and have a big place in your heart for cheese, you must visit this place, but after crossing those doors your are at serious risk of spending all your budget.

To get there, if you are close to Notre Dame, you can cross the Seine at Pont au Double or at the Petit Point. If you come from some place far in the city you can take the subway to one of the stations in the neighborhood (Maubert, Cluny La Sorbonne or St-Michel).