Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, just a short walk from the Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain-des-Prés has for centuries been the heart of the capital's intellectual, literary and artistic life. Painters such as Manet and Delacroix found inspiration here, and the neighbourhood became a meeting place for great minds. Its legend was born above all in the post-war years, when the surrealism of Apollinaire and André Breton, and the existentialism of Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, exploded in the celebrated literary cafés — the Deux Magots, the Café de Flore and the Brasserie Lipp — still famous the world over today. Picasso and Man Ray also loved to frequent the quarter.

In the 1950s and 1960s, jazz shook the cellars with Boris Vian and Juliette Gréco. Today the neighbourhood is home mainly to art galleries, luxury boutiques and elegant tea rooms. During this tour, let yourself be drawn by the memory of one of the oldest abbeys in Paris, whose only remaining trace is the church of Saint-Germain — well worth a visit. The oldest bell tower in Paris beckons you to travel back in time.

Winding through the narrow streets and the enchanting place de Furstenberg, tucked away from passers-by, we will follow in the footsteps of the remarkable figures who left their mark on this neighbourhood. As Ernest Hemingway once said, "Paris est une fête" — and Saint-Germain-des-Prés is its beating heart.