The Visionary Sees It as Divine Art in the First Person St Germain

St-Germain-des-Prés Paris – The Center Of La Vie Parisienne

St-Germain-des-Prés, the 6th Arrondissement of Paris, is best known for the literary and artistic celebrities who lived and worked here in the late 19th and early on 20th centuries. It was the meeting indicate for existentialists, painters, and writers.

Once the most literary of Paris arrondissements St-Germain/6th Arrondissement is ane of the best shopping areas in the urban center. If yous stay in St-Germain everything is at your doorstep — cafes, brasseries, bars, and restaurants flourish, including the famous Buffet de Flore, Les Deux Magots, and Brasserie Lipp. You also find art galleries, antique stores, theaters and cinemas, street markets, Jardin du Luxembourg, clothing retailers, and the upscale section store, Le Bon Marché.

18 Nifty Things Well-nigh Saint-Germain-des-Prés

ane. Musee Delacroix – National Museum of Eugene Delacroix

At this dedicated museum you lot can explore the great French painter'south life, his artwork, and his studio. On display are many of Delacroix's early works including small oil paintings, pastels, and sketches.

In case you lot've forgotten your French art history, Delacroix (1798 – 1863) is regarded equally the leader of the French Romantic motion in art. He took his inspiration from Rubens and Venetian Renaissance painters who focused on bold colors, sensuality, and a sense of motion in their works. You lot probably could identify his most famous painting, Liberty Leading the People, which hangs in the Louvre-Lens museum in northern French republic.

Musée Delacroix in St Germain is set in the terminal apartment he lived in. It was practiced news for art lovers in 1929 when the Société des Amis d'Eugène Delacroix fought to prevent the destruction of the apartment building. The construction was eventually donated to the French government and it became a national museum.

• 6 Rue de Furstenberg, 75006
• Website…

2. Breakfast at Les Deux Magots

Hark back to French philosophical history by taking breakfast at this famous literary cafe. Sure, it may price a piffling more other Parisian cafes (and it may be just a wee bit touristy), but the air of heavy thinking is palpable and worth the extra euros. In case y'all're wondering, the proper noun Les Deux Magots has zippo to do with maggots. (Luckily.) It refers to 2 Chinese wisemen (derived from "magi") and was the proper noun of the gift shop that previously occupied the edifice. The cafe was get-go established in 1812 at Rue de Buci and moved to the current address in 1873, in the menses when the grand Paris boulevards were being created.

Today you can finish for breakfast (petit dejeuner), a plat du jour for dejeuner, or for just a drink. Come for French comfort nutrient — brandade de cabillaud, pot au feu de boeuf (with the marrow), confit de canard, or merely to accept a cafe creme and brood for a while. Recall dorsum to the people who just may have sat in the aforementioned seat equally you lot — a young Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Bertolt Brecht, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, even Julia Child.

• 6 Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés 75006
• Website…

iii. Linger Over a Drinkable at Buffet de Flore

Similar her famous neighbor, Les Deux Magots, Cafe de Flore first opened her doors in St Germain in the late 19th century — 1887 to be exact. During the 1920s and 1930s poor artists and writers and revolutionaries who lived in small, unheated apartments would gather at Flore to go warm and to discuss their ideas. People like Pablo Picasso, Albert Camus, Leon Trotsky, Ossip Zadkine.

They didn't but terminate in for a drink, cafes like Flore were their offices and second homes. Jean-Paul Sartre talked about arriving at Cafe de Flore at nine AM and working until noon. Then he and Simone de Beauvoir would go elsewhere for lunch, return to the cafe past 2 PM and piece of work until dinner. Afterwards they would return to the Flore for a nightcap.

In the 1960's Buffet de Flore was the hub for New Wave celebrities Bridget Bardot, Roman Polanski, Yves Montand, Jean Seberg; and mode icons Yves St Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Karl Lagerfeld, and Paco Rabanne. Today, you might not want to linger all day only you could start your day at Flore with a croissant au beurre, an oeuf dur (hard boiled egg), jus d'orangish, or chocolat special Flore.

• 172 Boulevard Saint-Germain 75006
• Website…

iv. Église Saint-Sulpice

This 17th-century church, very almost Jardin du Luxembourg, is located on a place with a beautiful fountain. Famous for having the only fresco painted by Delacroix, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, and for its Grand Organ.

The da Vinci Code (both volume and moving picture) set much of its action in this church, based on the supposed hole-and-corner meanings hidden in the architecture. There is, though, a wondrous gnomon, or sundial, set into the flooring, along with other fascinating patterns. Saint-Sulpice is certainly worth visiting and exploring. By the fashion, did you lot know information technology's the second-largest church in Paris?

• Place Saint-Sulpice 75006

five. Musée du Luxembourg

Nestled in the vast gardens of the Jardin du Luxembourg, the museum was the kickoff in France to exist open to the public, back in 1750. You won't find a permanent collection, instead there are ii or three irresolute exhibits per twelvemonth. At in one case, the museum housed paintings past Rubens, da Vinci, Titian, Rembrandt and Raphael before they were moved to the Louvre.

To admission the museum, enter from Rue de Vaugirard, it's about a vii infinitesimal walk from Église Saint-Sulpice. The museum has undergone recent renovations, with the welcome addition of an Angelina tearoom. (By the way, that'southward the Luxembourg palace and gardens in the photograph.)

• nineteen rue de Vaugirard 75006

half dozen. Le Bon Marché & La Grande Epicerie

If you love the good life as much as we practice, the infinitesimal you country in Paris you lot will make a beeline to Le Bon Marché. Over the years, nosotros've watched the grand magasin and only department shop on the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) evolve and flourish. Of form, who doesn't enjoy perusing the luxury brands in Le Bon Marché section store, simply our hearts belong to the best grocery shop in the world, La Grande Epicerie de Paris, found just beyond the street from the master branch.

La Grande Epicerie is the place to assemble your Paris pantry essentials — fleur du sel, cured meats, heady cheeses, delicate pastries. Information technology'south also our pick-me-up identify where we take a pause while shopping to downward a few oysters and a glass of Sancerre. The wine store (plant on the lower level) is fully stocked with wines of France, and the upper levels are a sort of Disneyland for nutrient lovers and cooks, resplendent with the finest cooking utensils, French cookware, tableware and other culinary delights.

• 24, rue de Sèvres 75007
• La Grande Epicerie Website…

7. Musée de Mineralogie

The Museum of Minerals has to be 1 of the most hidden and obscure museums in Paris, although information technology'due south hiding in plain sight in the middle of the bustling Boulevard Saint Michel. It's a seriously sometime museum, dating back to 1783, with a vast collection of 100,000 mineral specimens.

While the topic may not exist to anybody's taste, the museum does have a French following. Its website shows photos of then-president François Hollande admiring dazzling minerals on a visit. The museum also has temporary exhibitions — on display when nosotros wrote this were the French Crown Jewels.

• threescore Boulevard Saint Michel 75006
• Website…

viii. Pierre Hermé – The Picasso of Pastry

Although he now has boutiques all over the world, we take a soft spot for the store on Rue Bonaparte in St Germain in Paris. Pierre Hermé has the pastry pedigree of fable — he comes from a long line of pastry chefs (four generations) and started his apprenticeship at the age of 14 with Gaston Lenôtre. He opened his commencement shop in Tokyo and his 2d location in St. Germain.

What makes Hermé such a genius in the world of desserts is his revolutionary approach — treating sugar like salt and using unusual combinations of flavors. If yous taste anything at his shop, make certain information technology's a macaron; Hermé is particularly fond of his chocolate macarons. If it's your first fourth dimension, try the signature Ispahan fabricated with rose, raspberry and litchi.

Pierre Hermé is the simply pastry chef to receive the highest French honor — Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. Don't you just love France? 72 Rue Bonaparte 75006

• 72 Rue Bonaparte 75006

ix. Brasserie Lipp

Does it seem to you, besides, that we spend a lot of time talking about the nutrient to be had in St Germain? Simply, then again, we do the same about all of Paris! Here's Brasserie Lipp, a Paris institution since 1880. A piddling bit touristy, a trivial fleck stone and roll. A meal at Brasserie Lipp will whisk you to a different era. (Whisk?) The service is brusk and sometimes efficient, the food is classic French, the overall experience makes yous feel like yous're in the center of a movie prepare, or flung back a century or two. Is that Hadley Richardson at the next table?

Nosotros love the Lipp's days-of-the-calendar week bill of fare, called Le Semainier , with a different specialty each mean solar day. Monday is black-pepper steak (pave de boeuf au poivre) or poached haddock in beurre blanc. Tuesday is roast lamb or blanquette de veau a l'ancienne. If yous're a fan of cassoulet make your reservation for Th. Information technology'due south are open up daily, the only exceptions are Christmas and New Twelvemonth'due south Eve.

• 151 Boulevard Saint-Germain 75006
• Website…

10. École des Beaux Arts

Ballerina, by Edgar Degas

The national school of architecture, painting and sculpture was founded simply later the French Revolution and has graduated a Who'due south-Who of the French art world — Jean-Auguste Ingres, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Gustave Moreau, Georges Seurat. Every twelvemonth in June or July there is an open house when yous tin meet the studios too as works by the students.

• 14 Rue Bonaparte 75006
• Website…

eleven. Debauve & Gallais

The oldest chocolate shop in Paris is Debauve & Gallais, institute in St Germain on Rue des Saints-Peres. There is some fence well-nigh information technology being the oldest chocolatier, but we believe that this shop, that opened its doors in 1800, is the strongest contender. Listen to the testify…

Marie Antoinette adored their chocolates, claiming they made her medicine go down much more easily. The last kings of France were customers of D&Grand. By 1819 D&G were the sole royal chocolate supplier to Napoleon as well equally his court. (In add-on to that, their website looks like it's a good couple of hundred years one-time.)

You can still lodge Marie'due south favorite chocolate: Pistoles de Marie-Antoinette, dark chocolate (99%) with various flavors like almond, coffee, orange tree flowers. It's recommended to relish the chocolates as did the tsars of Russia, with stiff spirits. (We merely do it to honor the tsars… honest!)

• 30 rue des Saints-Pères, 76007
• Website…

12. The Bust of Taras Shevchenko

In a minor park just effectually the corner from Debauve & Gallais you can spot a bust of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. In fact, the park is likewise named for this national hero — Foursquare Taras Chevtchenko (using the French transliteration of his name).

Shevchenko's writing had such an bear on that today he is regarded as the father of Ukrainian literature and even of the modern Ukrainian linguistic communication. He lived from 1814 to 1861 and is still held in esteem past Ukrainians and those of Ukrainian heritage around the world. The Paris foursquare was defended in 1937 and the bust past Lyssenko was erected in 1978.

• Boulevard Saint-Germain at Rue des Saints-Pères

xiii. The Best Chocolate & Pastries of St Germain

If, like us, you consider chocolate a major food group, then St Germain should top your list of must-visit neighborhoods in Paris. Sure there'southward the oldest chocolate shop, but there's as well a plethora of chocolate shops, with 1 found on most every street in St Germain. Other favorites of ours are Pierre Cardolini, Patrick Roger, Pierre Hermé (of course), Ladurée, and Gerard Mulot. It'due south no wonder that one of the most popular activities is a St Germain chocolate walking tour.

We had fun on this guided tour that takes you into the world of French chocolate in the neighborhood where information technology tastes nearly heavenly. Did you know that the French consume over 400,000 tons of chocolate a year? Find out why.

fourteen. Jardin du Luxembourg

The year is 1612 and Marie de Médicis is essentially the ruler of France. (Interim as regent to her underage son.) She buys an manor and transforms it into the Grand duchy of luxembourg Palace surrounded past acres and acres of imperial gardens. The gardens were fabricated to resemble the Boboli gardens in Florence. Suddenly, the neighborhood (a combination of Latin Quarter & St Germain) becomes a fashionable commune for French nobility to settle in.

Today, Marie's garden is more pop than ever. Orchards, rose gardens, an apiary, the Medici fountain, a playground, tennis courts, puppet shows, pony rides, cafes, a museum, a pond — the Luxembourg garden seems to have information technology all! Did we mention the Statue of Liberty?

xv. Metro Line 4

St Germain's primary Metro route, the mighty Line iv, stops at Saint Michel, Odeon, St-Germain-des-Prés, and Saint-Placide. Line 4 is a major link betwixt the due north and south, stopping at three of the major Paris train stations — Gare de Nord, Gare de fifty'Est, and Gare Montparnasse. In improver the this Metro route, RER Line B has stations at St-Michel and Luxembourg, RER line C is accessible at St-Michel, Metro line 10 from Odeon, and Metro line 6 from Raspail.

16. The Bridges of St Germain

Crossing the Seine river always gives united states such a thrill, and there are some great bridges that serve St Germain — nosotros think of Pont Neuf, Pont des Arts, and Pont St Michel.

These are three wonderfully romantic bridges — Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, links St Germain to the tip of Île de la Cité. Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge, takes you to the Louvre while Pont St Michel gets you from St Germain to the very belly of Île de la Cité.

17. Musee Zadkine

We really similar the small museums — found beyond the Paris landscape — that honour private artists. The Zadkine museum was the domicile studio of Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967), a Russian painter and sculptor who lived and worked here from 1928 until his death. It's thanks to his widow, Valentine Pax, who donated their estate to the City of Paris, that his works are displayed where he created them. With glass roofs and a garden, the museum is a haven of peace and tranquility in the hubbub that is Paris. Entry to the museum is gratuitous.

• 100 bis, Rue d'Assas, 75006
• Website…

eighteen. Odéon-Théâtre de fifty'Europe

Odeon Theatre, Wikimedia, photograph by Thierry Depagne

One of only six national theaters in French republic, the Odeon Theatre stands majestically on the place that shares its proper name. The Greek-inspired theatre was inaugurated in 1782 by none other than Marie Antoinette. Today the theatre performs a regular season of plays from September to June. The place is a bully place to sit and relax on your fashion to the Jardin du Grand duchy of luxembourg. There's too a few wonderful restaurants nearby, including La Bastide Odeon and La Méditerranée, opened in 1942, with a logo designed by Jean Cocteau.

• 1 place de fifty'Odéon 75006
• Theatre Website…

The 7 Best Places to Stay in St-Germain Paris

You now know that St Germain is a fascinating neighborhood, so information technology probably won't come equally a surprise to larn that in that location are some pretty darn skilful hotels in the quartier. All of them are in neat locations within St Germain and receive our pinnacle ratings of "Superb" and "Superb-Plus !".

St Germain Resources

Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés

• In that location are four quartiers, or distinct neighborhoods, within the surface area generally chosen "St Germain" — Notre Dame des Champs, Odeon, Monnaie, and Saint Germain des Prés.
• The chief street is Boulevard Saint Germain. Information technology runs 1 style, to the east.
• The commune is served mainly by Metro lines 4 and x.
• Picasso, Hemingway, Sartre, and Baudelaire lived and worked in St Germain. Later Picasso left his married woman Olga, he lived at his studio at the 17th-century Hotel de Savoie on the Rue des Grands Augustins.
• Other Famous Residents of St Germain included Richard Wagner, who lived on rue Jacob, and Oscar Wilde, who stayed at what is today the luxurious 50'Hotel. Wilde died at that place on November 30, 1900 at the age of only 46.

Paris Planning Guides

brownalid1997.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.parisinsidersguide.com/st-germain-paris.html

Share this post