Show Notes for Episode 7: Latin Quarter Walking Tour

Categories: First Time in Paris, Paris, Paris Walks

Discussed in this Episode

• Boulevard saint Michel
• Boulevard Saint Germain
• Rue du Sommerard
• Place Paul Painlevé
• Rue des Ecoles
• Rue Saint Jacques
• Rue Cujas
• Sorbonne University
• Panthon
• Saint Etienne du Mont Church
• Rue de la Montagne Saint Geneviève
• Rue Laplace
• Rue Valette
• Rue de Lanneau
• Rue des Ecoles
• Cluny Museum

Latin Quarter Walking Tour Map

Download the Latin Quarter Walking Tour Map.

This is the Latin Quarter walking tour Elyse takes with her customers. Turn-by-turn. Have a lovely walk!

Start at the corner of Boulevard saint Michel and Boulevard Saint Germain. With your back to the river walk up blvd St Michel until Rue du Sommerard (it will be on your left) and turn onto Rue du Sommerard. As you walk up blvd Saint Michel You will see the roman and medieval ruins that are part of the museum on your left. Turn right on to Place Paul Painlevé. Turn left on to rue des Ecoles. Go straight until Rue Saint Jacques and as you do that you will see a huge building on your right, the Sorbonne.

Turn right on to rue Saint-Jacques. Walk up rue Saint Jacques, you will see on both sides large monumental building from the XVII Century. Turn left on Rue Cujas. Go on rue Cujas for two blocks and you will see a huge Greek Style building, that’s the Panthéon. Then you will also see a church called Saint Etienne du Mont. Hook around on to the street called Rue de la Montagne Saint Geneviève.

Go down that street one block (this is the street where Woody Allen filmed some scenes for the movie Midnight in Paris) turn left on rue Laplace, go across rue Valette, hook a right on rue Valette, go down half a block then turn left on rue de Lanneau (tiny street that has some beautiful medieval houses) that street curves to the right and you end up on rue des Ecoles. That whole walk should take 1/2 hour or so, it’s not quite a mile. Now is a good time to go into the Cluny Museum (also called Musée du Moyen Age).

Pocket Park #1 Square René Viviani

Across the river from Notre Dame. Church St Julien le Pauvre and next to the Shakespeare bookstore. It is nice and green with a view of Notre Dame.

Pocket Park #2 Square du Paul Painlevé

1:35′ Why Elyse loves the Latin Quarter.

3:00′ What do we mean by Latin Quarter? Latin Quarter boundaries.

4:45′ Why is it called the Latin Quarter?

7:40′ One of the oldest neighborhoods of Paris.

11:00′ At the Latin Quarter you will find both lots of French students AND lots of tourists.

12:30′ La Huchette is a sub-section of the Latin Quarter, and it’s where you’ll find hotels, restaurants, shops, it’s a destination in itself for French people and tourists.

13:30′ Latin Quarter is worth a whole day. It’s bustling and noisy, lively, has great cafés, pastry shops. Do not go if you want peace and quiet.

15:15′ If you go up the hill going south, get away from the crowd and see some of the best places there: The Cluny Museum (we’ll do a whole episode about it) and the Pantheon (we will also do another episode about it.)

16:30′ Cluny, NOT Cloony. Also called Musée National du Moyen Age. Most signs and maps call it Musée National du Moyen Age so that’s an important detail!

17:45′ Victor Hugo is buried in the Pantheon

18:45′ Quiet streets and pocket parks (see maps above)

19:04′ Specific street names for your walking tour (see above)

19:40′ Can you visit inside the Sorbonne?

20:30′ One of the oldest streets in Paris is called Saint Jacques in the Latin Quarter. It refers to the Saint Jacques de Compostelle Pilgrimage.

21:30′ Saint Severin is also a very old street in the Latin Quarter with beautiful old church.

21:45′ What to do if you only have a couple of hours? Walk. Eat. Take pictures. Watch the world go by.

23:00′ Where to go if you have more time on the outskirts of the Latin Quarter, the Roman Arenas, on rue Monge.

24:00′ Prices at cafés in the Latin Quarter. Take the time to enjoy the cafés.

25:20′ Practical information.

How to Get to the Latin Quarter

The Latin Quarter in Paris is hard to miss, it’s in the middle of everything. You can use lines 4 and 10. Saint Michel stop. Cluny stop. Maubert Mutuelle stop. Odéon stop.

There are also lots of buses, probably 12 lines stop in the Latin Quarter. Food: you can eat your heart out and not spend a lot of money. Ethnic food is very popular there. There are ATM machines in the area.

Watch out for pickpockets. Go inside the bank to withdraw and put it all away before you walk out again. Bathrooms are a problem in this area, there are no open public bathrooms, use the bathrooms in restaurants or cafés. You will need to buy something in order to use the bathroom. Bathrooms are often in either the basement or up the stairs, not easy for people with mobility issues. Good place to get souvenirs.

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Categories: First Time in Paris, Paris, Paris Walks