But most of all, the Arrondissement’s renown comes from the “Saint-Germain-des-Prés” era, dating back to the literary Paris of the 1920’s-1950’s, when the Café des Deux Magots and the Café de Flore hosted the likes of Sartre, Hemingway and Simone de Beauvoir.

During the summer this area of Paris is invaded by none other than Parisians, seeking the open air and calm of the Luxembourg gardens, or the bustling night-life of the north side of the Boulevard Montparnasse where the legends of the “Mad Years” (Années Folles) between the two World Wars, and their famous artists and thinkers began.

The 6th's 44,000 residents live comfortably into over 2.1 square kilometers, and the broad boulevards and vast gardens make it seem even more spread out, although rambles through the streets climbing up toward the Odeon Theater will give the observer a glimpse of how close-packed 12th century Paris was.