Hotels in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris

Saint-Germain-des-Prés is the Left Bank's historic intellectual and literary heart. The district centers on the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés—Paris's oldest—and the adjoining square. The area is defined by the Boulevard Saint-Germain, bookshops, publishing houses, and legendary cafés like Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore, where Sartre and de Beauvoir once worked.

Today, its narrow streets mix high-end art galleries, designer boutiques, and prestigious academic institutions like the École des Beaux-Arts. The Luxembourg Gardens are a 10-minute walk south, offering formal gardens and the French Senate building. The Musée d'Orsay, housed in a former railway station, is just across the Seine.