This neighborhood played a major role in the French Revolution. To get a unique, intimate perspective on the politics, lives, and loves of former area residents Danton, Robespierre, Marat, and Desmoulins, our staff recommends A Place of Greater Safety, a massive, impressive novel on the subject by Hilary Mantel. We also recommend French author Michel Vovelle’s books, written by one of the best specialists of the French Revolution.

But maybe you’re more interested in the area’s 20th century heyday. In his book A Moveable Feast, the aspiring expat writer’s bible, Ernest Hemingway evokes his times, café life in general, and even some of the local cafes in particular – not to mention a number of his famous fellow customers.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés resident Guillaume Apollinaire, the illegitimate son of an Italian aristocrat, came to live and create in Paris at the turn of the century. His poems are delightful and beautiful, and often considered precursors to the Surrealist movement. In fact, he’s the one who introduced André Breton and Philippe Soupault, at the Café de Flore. These two former would go on to found Surrealism (of which Breton would be called “the pope”), and to “invent” automatic writing. For a quick taste of classic Surrealist literature, Breton’s novel Nadja is a great choice, especially for visitors coming to Paris, since it mainly involves rambling walks through Paris (with a flighty, ultimately insane woman).

Saint-Germain-des-Prés’ role in the visual arts has continued to be important. Visitors to the area will find at least one or two art galleries on most streets. Some, like the rue du Seine and the rue Mazarine are made up almost entirely of galleries! These places feature everything from works by the artists who lived and worked here in the area’s heyday, to contemporary pieces from all over the world. In addition, there are often outdoor exhibits in the Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés, itself.

No literary or artistic “tour” of Saint-Germain-des-Prés is complete without the Existentialists. In fact, it’s in the Deux Magots and, mostly, the Flore, where Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir wrote a number of their influential texts. As the famous story goes, during the Occupation, a lack of German soldiers and a warm room in spite of heat restrictions were what Sartre found to be the Flore’s primary draws; de Beauvoir used to sit just beside the heating pole to get warm. In a sense, the philosophy of Existentialism is a bit about getting warm, too. According to Sartre and his followers, we live in a godless, indifferent universe. This causes people, quite naturally, to feel upset, angst-ridden, and full of nausea, this latter being the title of one of Sartre’s most famous works. But there is hope – if you can find something that you consider worthwhile to devote yourself to, life won’t be miserable, and could even be a good thing. De Beauvoir’s writings tackle issues like female identity and rights, and the position of the elderly. Sartre’s most famous book is Being and Nothingness, and De Beauvoir’s is The Second Sex.

If after reading those you want something a little lighter, no problem! After all, Saint-Germain-des-Prés was also Paris’ center for jazz from the 1920’s, until about the 1960’s. Just about anyone who was anyone in the jazz world probably hung out in the neighborhood at one time or another, and most certainly played at at least one of the quartier’s hopping jazz clubs (all of which are, unfortunately, now gone). So pop in a record, whether of Josephine Baker, Django Reinhardt, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis… For literature often infused with the rhythms of jazz, pick up a book by trumpeteer, author, poet, songwriter, and general jack of all trades Boris Vian , who, by the way, also wrote a guide to the area that today serves as a fascinating elegy to the countless jazz clubs and "caves" of these bygone days: the Manuel de Saint-Germain des Prés.

Still on the lighter side of things, the Oulipo movement was also a big part of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés scene. Oulipo was about playing games with language, and a lot of the movement’s writers produced a lot of great stuff. Raymond Queneau is probably the best known Oulipo member, and most people know him for his delightful books "Exercices in Style" and "Zazie in the Metro", this latter having also made into a cool New Wave film.

Heavy and thoughtful, light and humorous, utterly exuberant, and pretty much everything in between -- like observing the patrons in a crowded café, the more you get into the artistic and intellectual works of the people who hung out in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the more you’ll get to take in a little bit of everything.