The Many Pleasures of Paris’ Latin Quarter
From the lush Jardin de Plantes on the east to the Place de la Sorbonne on the west there are endless streets and alleys with all manner of enticements, culinary and otherwise, for every taste and budget. From the imposing Pantheon atop the Mt St.Genevieve, down to Notre Dame and the bookstalls and bridges of the Seine is an easy stroll.
As you walk past tidy shops, smell the espresso and freshly baked bread, brush the young intellectuals hurrying to class there is a feeling of the real Paris, and a genuinely artistic, bohemian one at that.
Latin was the official language in this quarter until 1793 in recognition of the dominating presence of the Sorbonne. In 1871, the Place Saint Michel became the center of the Paris Commune, and Parisians died here during WW2 defending their homes against the Nazis. The student protest of May 1968 also took place here. In fact, the original cobblestones used as weapons by the protesters have been replaced by gray slabs.Too bad.
There are great hotel bargains in the fifth arrondissement. The Hotel Central on Rue Descartes, may be the best deal in town if you don’t mind somewhat spartan accommodations and absolutely no English spoken by the staff. So what if the door to the tiny WC won’t close all the way once you’re comfortably seated. Around $18 a person.
Once my daughter and I found the BVJ Hostel our hotel bill was halved to 260 f, compared to the pricey place I had reserved back in the states in St Germain de Pres.
Our hostel was located on rue De St Benardins, a few blocks up from the Seine. The view from the window, where some very tame pigeons who were very picky about the bread they would eat hung out, looked toward Eglise St Chardonnay.
A chill wind blows in the Parisian evening, especially along the Seine where the big wide bateaux glide by with their powerful lights like some moving movie set. The open air bookstalls along the river are one of the special joys of Paris. You might discover all sorts of little treasures quite reasonably priced, from a well worn 1870 edition of Les Fleur du Mal to a wonderful little watercolor of the French countryside. Magazines, maps, guides-they are all here.
Eglise St. Julien de Pauvre, built 1170-1230, the oldest in Paris, a wonderful, ancient little church, one of the oldest in the city, has an intimacy about it that is most comforting.A charming park is adjacent to the St. Julien and makes for a tranquil refuge. Just across the way is Hotel Esmeralda, budget priced, with excellent views of the Seine and owned by Americans.
Nearby, right along the river is Shakespeare and Co. a well worn English language bookstore,37 Rue de la Bucherie, with its stalls of used books outside and thousands more in marvelous crooks and crannies within. The usual bookstore cat will also be hiding somewhere. I was immediately reminded of City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco’s North Beach, Allen Ginsburg’s haunt. In fact Ginsburg was a former resident here. In fact, there is a City Lights sign above the entrance.
A small chair here, a rumpled couch there, then a miniscule stairway up to a second floor with more volumes where Notre Dame can be seen like a hazy daguerreotype, diffused through a dusty glass window, across the river.
Musee de Cluny, actually Musee National du Moyen Age, is a Medieval abbey built atop Roman thermal baths. The descent into the subterranean baths is a journey back into time. Weather-worn statuary that that once adorned Notre Dame can be fondled in the gallerie des rois and please do not miss the stunning Lady and the Unicorn, six provocative tapestries from the late fifteenth century and dedicated to a lady’s unshakeable love. Done with exquisite artistry each panel has a red background sprinkled with a thousand tiny flowers, birds and animals and a central green island with the lady in magical scenes.
And then, there’s the Pantheon. This massive 18th century church/mausoleum was originally meant to be a simple basilica for King Clovis and wife back in 512, and well, the Parisians got carried away. The present edifice- a classical dome with a Latin Cross fronted by a Greek temple faÃ?§ade- dates from 1789 and luminaries such as Mirabeau, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo and Zola lie within its crypt. Jerry Lewis is said to be on the waiting list.
We skipped this ornate attraction and simply enjoyed the colonnaded exterior and the views. It’s also the best landmark in case you get lost.
The weekly food marche on the Place Maubert is a joy, both to observe the fascinating workaday world of the vendors hawking their produce to sophisticated urbanites and the availability of fresh and delicious produce to a touriste. And adjacent creameries and boulangeries provide fragrant cheese and soft, warm baguettes.
We also frequented the cozy Greek gyro shops, which have tasty lunches for 15-20f and creperies along St. Germaine.
Rue Mouffetard, the ancient road to Rome, is the scene of another bustling food market from 8AM -1:30. A Mr. Hemingway probably frequented this market for a cheap lunch-his first pad in Paris was nearby at 74, rue du Cardinal Lemoine. John Dos Passos and Samuel Beckett were neighbors.
For a guy from New Mexico the degree of “chicness” was astounding. I was constantly amazed how beautifully coiffed the women, and men, of Paris are, even the cashier in a corner grocery store. “Cette robe vous votres bien.” Never got the nerve to use that line. But for all that there is an eagerness on the part of Parisians to come to the aid of lost souls, especially Americans(We are so helpless.), especially Americans with a kid. We were walking the wrong way down rue Monge, looking for something, I forget, when I asked a woman for help who graciously pointed the way. Second woman stopped, overheard the conversation and added her opinion, and a finally a third, who spoke perfect English made sure we got it right, and even walked with us part of the way. So, the secret is out-Parisians are often quite courteous. Guess it makes them feel useful.
