Once the center of the book trade, a large number of the quartier’s little shops have been taken over by fashonistas, giving Saint-Germain-des-Prés a glamorous face many residents fear will destroy its intellectual heritage. However, as long as the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts remains one of the most prestigious art schools in the world (the annual “concours” (entry contest) attracts several thousand applications for fewer than 100 places), Saint-Germain will continue to attract the artistic and the literary.

Clustered together on both sides of the Blvd. Saint Germain are three classic watering holes: The Brasserie Lipp, Les Deux Magots, and the Café Flore where the likes of Hemingway, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Camus used to hang out.

There are many smaller, less notorious eateries in the back streets around the Place Saint Germain des Pres, and some wonderfully forgotten 2 and 3 star hotels catering to a surprising variety of tastes and budgets. Nightlife is perpetual, and generally follows the traffic along the Boulevard towards the Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Latin Quarter.