What to do in Saint-Germain-des-Prés? Top things to do in this historic neighborhood
- Hôtel Da Vinci -
Wondering what to do in Saint-Germain-des-Prés? The question comes up within the first few steps on the Left Bank, so much does this vibrant and historic neighborhood of the 6th arrondissement of Paris pack into a handful of streets. A thousand-year-old abbey and its church, the oldest in the city. The Musée Eugène-Delacroix, tucked at the back of a courtyard on Place Furstenberg. The art galleries of rue de Seine, the boutiques of rue Bonaparte, the terraces of Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore, the Luxembourg Garden a ten-minute walk away.
This guide takes you from historic sites to food addresses, from guided tours to walks along the Seine, so you can enjoy a day or a weekend in the district. And to sleep in the middle of it all, Hôtel Da Vinci, a few steps from Boulevard Saint-Germain.
STONES AND CENTURIES
What to see in Saint-Germain-des-Prés: the historic sites
It all begins at the Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the last major remnant of the Benedictine abbey founded in the 6th century and the oldest church in Paris. Its Romanesque bell tower has watched over the square for more than a thousand years, its blue star-studded vaults have recovered their colors in a recently renovated interior, and the visit is free. Do not miss the chapel of Saint-Symphorien, the oldest part of this monument, or the tombstone of René Descartes, set discreetly in a side aisle.
Two hundred meters further on, the second of the district's great churches, Saint-Sulpice, raises its mismatched towers above the fountain of the Four Bishops. Inside, an astronomical gnomon traces the path of the sun across the floor, and the chapel of the Holy Angels holds the monumental murals of Eugène Delacroix, the painter's last major commission.
Along Quai de Conti, the dome of the Institut de France marks the seat of the Académie Française, while the Monnaie de Paris opens its workshops and its 11 Conti museum to the public. Next door, the École des Beaux-Arts occupies a set of courtyards and buildings on Quai Malaquais where artists of the city have crossed paths for two centuries. Paid guided tours in Saint-Germain cover these sights daily, though a self-guided tour with this list works just as well.
PALETTES AND SIDE STREETS
The Musée Eugène-Delacroix and the art galleries
Is there a more charming square in Paris than Place Furstenberg? Four paulownia trees, four lamp globes, and at the back of a paved courtyard, the Musée national Eugène-Delacroix, on what may be the most photographed square on the Left Bank. The painter moved here in 1857 to be closer to his Saint-Sulpice commission, and his apartment and garden studio can be visited today like a house left untouched, with a collection of small formats and personal objects. Give it an hour, no more. It is a pocket museum, and that is its charm.
Around it, rue de Seine, rue Jacques-Callot, rue Jacob and rue Mazarine hold a density of art galleries with no equivalent in France: old master paintings, prints, spaces showcasing contemporary and classic work, boutiques selling rare objects. The window displays change every three weeks. You walk in without an appointment, and if you love art, the discovery is often worth an exhibition.
LEGENDARY TERRACES
The famous cafés of Saint-Germain
Impossible to cross the boulevard without sitting down. Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore have faced each other for more than a century, and the literary history of Saint-Germain was written at their tables by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Prévert and Giacometti. Order a hot chocolate served in its porcelain pot: one of the rare things here that has never changed, and arguably the best chocolate in town. A few steps away, Brasserie Lipp keeps its banquettes and its Belle Époque style ceramics.
More discreet, Le Procope, opened in 1686 on rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie, claims the title of oldest coffee house in Paris and fed the men of the French Revolution. You reach it through the Cour du Commerce-Saint-André, a paved passage where a medieval tower from Philippe Auguste's wall still stands. This is also where to drink in Saint-Germain when the boulevard terraces are full.
WINDOWS AND WANDERING
Shopping, bookshops and the Marché Saint-Germain
Rue Bonaparte, rue du Four, rue Saint-Sulpice and rue de Grenelle make up the shopping route of the neighborhood: fashion houses, shoemakers, stationers, perfumers, luxury boutiques. Bookshops remain numerous, from specialist dealers to the big stores on the boulevard, and the covered Marché Saint-Germain on rue Mabillon mixes food shops with designer labels. On rue de Sèvres, Le Bon Marché and its Grande Épicerie de Paris are worth the short walk, as is the tiny boutique of illustrator Marin Montagut on rue Madame.
On Saturday morning, the rue de Buci market concentrates the Parisian atmosphere people come here for: fruit stalls, florists, cheesemongers, local products, terraces full by 10:00 AM. This village within the city, as the people of the 6th call it, is best explored without a plan. Just across into the Latin Quarter, Shakespeare and Company remains the reference for an English-language read.
BREATHING ON THE LEFT BANK
The Luxembourg Garden and the most beautiful walks
To the east of the district, the Jardin du Luxembourg spreads its parterres in front of the Palais du Luxembourg, the palace that now houses the French Senate. People come for the Medici Fountain, a favorite spot to sit with a book, for the boats children push across the main pond, for the playground, the orchard and the late afternoon chess games. It is the most beautiful park on the Left Bank, and it is free.
For a longer walk, head up toward the Latin Quarter and the Panthéon, or go down to the river: the Pont des Arts, the quays and their booksellers make an hour-long stroll, perfect for a leisurely evening. A little further, the Louvre Museum is reached on foot across the Pont du Carrousel, Notre-Dame Cathedral is fifteen minutes away on the Île de la Cité, and a boat cruise leaves from the Pont Neuf. The Maison Gainsbourg on rue de Verneuil can be visited by booking online.
STAGES AND SEASONS
Theatre, jazz and the Saint-Germain-des-Prés festival
The neighborhood was the cradle of jazz in Europe: in the 1950s, the cellars of the Left Bank welcomed Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Boris Vian. That chapter in the history of Saint-Germain-des-Prés continues each spring, when a major jazz festival takes over the Odéon, the church of Saint-Germain, the Monnaie de Paris and other landmark venues. Concerts, exhibitions and meetings with artists: the program runs in May and sells out quickly.
The rest of the year, the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe stages the great plays of the repertoire, and the art house cinemas of rue Christine keep up a cultural life that is rare in a central district. Few Parisian neighborhoods offer such a rich cultural heritage within walking distance. The reception staff at Hôtel Da Vinci handle ticketing for theatre, shows and museums.
TABLES AND TREATS
Where to eat in Saint-Germain, from lunch to dinner
On the food side, the 6th arrondissement covers every register. Bistros of classic French cuisine with seasonal dishes, starred restaurants, brasseries open late, Italian canteens on rue Guisarde: the restaurants in Saint-Germain leave a wide choice, and set lunch menus remain the best way into the most sought-after tables. Book ahead, especially at the weekend. For pastry, the neighborhood is a delicious playground: macarons, chocolates and travel cakes to eat standing up or to take away.
Our tip: grab a piece from a pastry shop on rue Bonaparte and walk it to the Luxembourg Gardens. Dinner, romantic or not, often ends on a terrace or in a wine bar with a glass of something local, once the traffic settles. Come June, those evenings stretch out well past midnight.
STAYING IN SAINT-GERMAIN-DES-PRÉS
The Hôtel Da Vinci, a hotel in the heart of the district
Located at 25 rue des Saints-Pères, 75006 Paris, France, Hôtel Da Vinci occupies one of the quietest corners of the district, minutes from the church, the galleries and the boulevard. This charming four-star hotel unfolds the world of Leonardo da Vinci across 24 rooms: frescoes drawn from his paintings and technical sketches above the beds, colors borrowed from his canvases, blown-glass light fixtures made in Venice. Spa access is included in every category, and a baby cot is available on request. Each category tells one side of the artist.
- Standard room: 13 sqm, double bed, street view. Frescoes taken from "The Battle of Anghiari" celebrate the painter, in the warm colors of his best-known canvases.
- Supérieure room: 16 sqm, queen size bed or two single beds, street view. A tribute to the inventor, with his technical studies above the bed and blown-glass fixtures made in Venice.
- Supérieure Balcon room: 16 sqm, inner courtyard view. Pastel tones of the period and superb Venetian mirrors give it an atmosphere of its own.
- Triple room: 17 sqm, queen size bed or two single beds. It opens onto the world of the Medici and "The Madonna of the Carnation", one of the master's earliest works.
- Mona Lisa room: 20 sqm on the ground floor, with a private terrace on the patio. Inside, an unfinished painting. Could it be the Mona Lisa herself?
- Adorateur room: 20 sqm, street view. It tells the theft of the century: on 21 August 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia, the man who stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre Museum, hid here for a few days before going home near the Hôpital Saint-Louis with his loot.
- Suite Cardinal: 220 sqm a few steps from the hotel, also known as Maison Cardinal Furstemberg. Living room, dining room, three bedrooms, fitted kitchen, hammam, gym and Roman pool, for up to six travelers.
AFTER THE VISIT
Private spa, Café Da Vinci and hotel services
The basement of the hotel holds a confidential relaxation space: a pool lined with mosaics that echo the colors of the Mona Lisa, under a starry vault, with a counter-current swimming system and hydromassage jets. Private use lasts 45 minutes, it is included for hotel guests and booked at reception, with fresh water, bathrobes and slippers. The spa is open daily from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Massages and beauty treatments are given by Olivier Lecocq and the Monmasseur company, with a 100% natural range of products from organic farming.
On the ground floor, Café Da Vinci borrows its setting from the Caffè Florian in Venice, ceiling patterns and wood panelling included. The breakfast buffet is served from 7:00 AM to 11:30 AM, the honesty bar runs from 5:00 PM to midnight with Mariage Frères teas, and room service from 12:00 PM to 11:30 PM. Reception is open 24 hours a day and takes care of the rest: concierge service, taxi, airport shuttle, luggage storage, laundry. Each room also has a work space, useful on a business trip.
LEFT BANK, 6TH ARRONDISSEMENT
Your stay in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés at Hôtel Da Vinci
One day here is never enough. You leave promising yourself you will come back for the exhibition you missed, the restaurant booked too late, the garden crossed too quickly. Knowing what to do in Saint-Germain-des-Prés means accepting a stroll with no program, then returning to relax a few streets away.
That is exactly what Hôtel Da Vinci allows. A discreet address in one of the best neighborhoods in Paris, minutes from the galleries and the boulevard, where you drop the day's shopping before heading out again. The reception staff act as your guide: the right gallery of the moment, the coffee shop where the hot chocolate is worth the detour, the concert not to miss, the restaurant that will still find you a table at 9:00 PM. Visitors who have stayed once tend to come back.
In the evening, the private spa downstairs extends the visit in a way few hotels in Paris can offer: an almost secret pool under its starry vault, yours alone for 45 minutes. Add the 24 rooms inspired by the most famous works of Leonardo da Vinci, Café Da Vinci open from morning to night, and a concierge who settles everything from show tickets to the taxi on departure. In summer as in the depth of winter, a stay in Paris here owes as much to the neighborhood as to the house that welcomes you into it.
YOUR QUESTIONS, OUR ANSWERS
FAQ - Frequently asked questions about things to do in Saint-Germain-des-Prés
What are the best things to do in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in one day?
In the morning, visit the church of Saint-Germain and the Musée Delacroix. Have lunch on rue de Buci, spend the afternoon in the art galleries and the shops, then head to the Luxembourg Gardens. Finish with a drink on Boulevard Saint-Germain. This walking route takes under six hours.
What are the most iconic places to see in Saint-Germain?
The Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés and its abbey, Place Furstenberg and the Musée national Eugène-Delacroix, Saint-Sulpice and its murals, the Institut de France and its dome, the Monnaie de Paris, Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore, the Marché Saint-Germain and the famous Luxembourg Gardens.
What are the family-friendly things to do in Saint-Germain?
Bring the kids to the Luxembourg Gardens, the largest of the parks in Saint-Germain: playground, sailing boats on the pond, pony rides, a puppet theatre and open space to run. Add a short visit to the Musée Delacroix, a snack in one of the kid-friendly cafés and a walk along the Seine by the Pont des Arts.
What can you visit around Saint-Germain-des-Prés?
A little further, the Louvre Museum is reached on foot across the Pont du Carrousel, and the Musée d'Orsay and Musée Rodin are fifteen to twenty minutes away. The Eiffel Tower sits across the river, while the Bois de Boulogne, the park of the Domaine de Saint-Cloud and the Château de Versailles make easy day trips by public transport.
How do I book a stay at Hôtel Da Vinci?
Book online on the hotel's official website to see prices, check availability and get the best available rate with 50% off breakfast. All reservations are guaranteed with a valid credit card. Reception also answers by phone and email for any special request.
