Paris Travel Guide: Essential Paris Travel Information

Paris Travels: The Left Bank

All you need to know about exploring Paris - fantastic travel information and informative travel guide to Paris, concentrating mainly on the under explored Left Bank of Paris.

Paris’s Left Bank romanticised for generations as the hang-out of bohemians, poets, writers and intellectuals in everything from the musical Moulin Rouge to the novels of Ernest Hemingway, despite the hype, still manages to take hold of the imagination.

Populated by students, artists and art dealers, who frequent beautiful cafés, corner shops and enticing restaurants, the Left Bank has a local feel. Two Left Bank districts of Paris in particular – the Latin Quarter and St-Germain – stand out as must-see districts to explore.

Although popular with many tourists, part of the beauty of the Latin Quarter and St-Germain is that they are busy, without leaving you feeling as if you are in a tourist trap. Every street down which you turn holds something of interest to the inquisitive tourist; a bar frequented by Picasso, or the crypt of a famous philosopher such as Descartes. It is a place where rubbing shoulders with history and experiencing all the romance of the Parisian way of life is unavoidable.

What’s more all the sights everyone visiting Paris wants to see – the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower in particular – are all within easy walking distance.

With a number of Universities located nearby, among them the prestigious Sorbonne, the Latin Quarter is a popular student spot. There are a number of sights worth checking out in this area too though, among them the Pantheon and the Museum of Natural History. But perhaps the real draw of this district is in the varied assortment of restaurants and the lively night time feel, all of which is served up with a local authenticity sadly lacking from the more crowded Parisian tourist spots.

While the narrow streets of the Latin Quarter close to Notre Dame are unashamedly targeting tourists - with plate-smashing-on-the-street Greek restaurants and a plentiful supply of English menus flashed before your eyes at every turn - the deeper into the Latin Quarter you travel, the more authentic the experience. That said however, close to Notre Dame is a bookshop that does no pandering to tourists and is a place any aspiring intellectual or would-be member of the literati should visit – Shakespeare & Co. Opened by George Whitman in August 1951, the bookshop is a Left Bank institution that has encouraged many a young writer since opening. People such as Henry Miller, Lawrence Durrell and Alan Ginsberg have all stayed at the bookshop at one point or another.

But a particularly good street to explore if you are looking for an inexpensive meal away from the tourist throng, yet still want to feel as though you are somewhere with a buzz, is Rue Mouffetard, south of the Pantheon. This narrow street, day or night, is always a lively spot and is dotted with restaurants serving all sorts of different foods – Moroccan, Spanish, Greek, Argentinean, Tibetan, and, of course, French – all to varying degrees of expense and quality.

There are some expensive restaurants to be found in the Latin Quarter, but there are also plenty of places to eat cheaply, too, with numerous shop front stalls selling delicious crepes and a number of cheap-and-cheerful bars catering to the student crowds.

To the West of the Latin Quarter is the much-sought after district of St-Germain. Along with some outstanding restaurants and up-market shops, specialising in wine and clothes in particular, this area is in many ways the picture-postcard image of Paris; delightful white buildings with protruding balconies, art galleries, bookshops and corner cafés abound.

Another great Left Bank tourist attraction is the Luxembourg Garden, a 25 hectare landscaped garden containing statues and the impressive 17th century Luxembourg Palace, modelled on Florence’s Palazzo Pitti. It is a great place to take a stroll in the summer months.

St-Germain is an unashamedly upmarket area, with a distinctively more laidback feel compared to the bustling business streets surrounding the Champs Elysee or Galleries Lafayette on the city’s Right Bank. If you intend coming to Paris to shop, then this is one of the best districts of the city in which to let yourself go. For the best in upmarket shopping head for rue Jacob, rue de Seine and rue Bonaparte – you will not be disappointed. For Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, head for Place St- Sulpice.

Along with shopping, St-Germain is perfectly geared for eating and drinking, too. Café de la Mairie on Place St-Sulpice is a classy spot for people watching, but for inexpensive crepes and superb cider from Brittany, all served in an unpretentious setting, visit A La Bonne Crepe on rue Gregoire de Tours (near the Odeon Metro). But wherever you walk in this area you will be sure to find fabulous restaurants and snug café-bars, suitable for any budget.