SAINT GERMAIN DES PRES PARIS / LATIN QUARTER
Since
the Middle Age Paris has been dominated by the Sorbonne,
and acquired its name from the early latin-speaking
students. It dates back to the Roman town across
the Ile de la Cité. In 1215 the Pope approved
the establishment of a university in Paris. Students
and teachers alike settled in the area and since
Latin was the official language of education at
that time, the area came to be called the Latin
Quarter.
The area is generally associated with artists and
intellectual; this is mainly due to the thousands
of students living around.
But the left bank also has a history of political
unrest : In 1871, the place Saint Michel became
the center of the Paris Commune, and in may 1968,
it was a site of student uprising.
The left bank contains many of the Paris monuments,
museums and gardens, ranging from the brand-new
Institut du Monde Arabe to the Middle Age Musee
de Cluny, or the Muséum National d'Histoire
Naturelle in the Jardin des Plantes.
Pantheon
The Pantheon was built as a church at the end of
the XVIIIth century. The Pantheon stands in the
heart of the Quartier Latin, the lively and intellectual
traditional Paris' student district.
After the french revolution, the Pantheon was turned
into a memorial to illustrous frenchmen. It now
houses among others the remains of Pierre and Marie
Curie, the physicists who discovered the radioactivity,
of Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Victor Hugo....
Walking the the Latin Quarter
Begin at Place Saint-Michel with your back to
the Seine. Look at the street du Chat-qui-Peche,
which is said to be the narrowest and shortest street
in the world.
Walk back towards Saint-Michel and turn in the street
de la Harpe that takes to rue St-Severin. Walk to
your left to view Saint-Severin, a Gothic church
built in 1210 and reconstructed in 1458.
Take rue Saint-Severin to rue Galande until you
reach St-Julien-le-Pauvre on the south side of square
Rene-Viviani. Turn rue St-Severin, turn to the street
Saint-Jacques, and turn right to boulevard St-Germain.
Turn onto rue de Cluny and aapears the entrance
to the Musee de Cluny. This museum houses the remains
of the Roman baths and The Lady and the Unicorn
Tapestry.
Exit to bd Saint-Michel, and turn towards place
de la Sorbonne. It is here that you will find the
Sorbonne, one of the most famous academic institutions
in the world. Discover here the Eglise de la Sorbonne,
a church built in 1635 by Le Mercier.
Walk south on street Victor-Cousin upon leaving
the church and turn onto rue Soufflot. The Pantheon
is located at the end of the street and is the final
resting place of Curie, Hugo, Rousseau, Voltaire,
and Zola.
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