Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Germain area

glasswork art inside notre dame de paris

eiffel tower image

Notre Dame / St. Germain

Metro: Cité

Notre Dame, the famous cathedral where the coronation of Henry VI and Napoleon I took place, is located at Ile de la Cité, an island in the Seine river. It took actually two centuries to complete this massive Gothic architecture (1163 - 1345). Various restorations have been made throughout the times to keep this structure.

Across from Ile de la Cité, along Quai de Montebello, you can find rare and used books and prints. You can keep walking all the way to Blvd St. Michel. From Blvd. St. Michel go to Blvd. St. Germain and towards St. Germain-des-Prés, which makes up the best part of St. Germain, filled with cafes and shops.

The oldest church in Paris, St. Germain-des-Prés is located here, built in the year 542. It has been renovated and rebuilt several times throughout the centuries. At this church you can find the tomb of Descartes among other notables.

At St. Germain-des-Prés you can find the three famous cafes: Les Deux Magot, Café de Flore and Brasserie Lipp where intellectuals like Jean Paul Sartre and Simon de Beauvoir used to meet.

The first cafe, Le Procope is located nearby at 13, Rue de l'Ancienne Comedie.

St. Germain-des-Prés and the side streets are filled with unique stores from haute-couture to antique shops. Armani is part of this area as well.

Further down, close to the Quai Anatole France, at 62 Rue de Lille is the famous Musee d'Orsay, where you will find paintings, sculptures, decorative arts and furniture from 1848 to 1914, including some works from Monet, Cezanne, Degas, Renoir and Van Gogh just to name a few. The building itself is interesting as it was an old train station converted into a museum.

However, if you stay on Blvd St. Michel, you will pass La Sorbonne, a prestigious part of the University of Paris, and arrive at Jardin du Luxembourg with the Medici fountain as the highlight of this park.

Addresses:

Les Deux Magots

6, Place St. Germain des Prés

Paris 6

Metro: St. Germain des Prés

Brasserie Lipp

151, Blvd St. Germain

Metro: St. Germain des Prés

Featured Paris Hotel in St. Germain:

Best Western Hotel au Manoir St. Germain.

153 Blvd St. Germain

Paris 6

▪ Build in the 1700s and remodeled in 1999. About 2 KM away from The Louvre, Notre Dame and Musee d'Orsay.

▪ Situated in the St. Germain area next to the famous Brasserie Lipp and across cafe de Flore and Cafe des Deux Magots.

Visit our Featured Hotels page for more choices.

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