The Latin Quarter takes its name from the Latin once spoken by Sorbonne students and scholars here, and it's been a university district since the 1200s — one of the oldest in the world. Narrow medieval streets, secondhand bookshops, and cheap ethnic restaurants sit a five-minute walk from Notre-Dame, in a neighborhood that has never quite stopped being young.
- Shakespeare and Company, the legendary English-language bookshop, sits right across the river from Notre-Dame
- Rue de la Huchette is packed with budget restaurants, mostly Greek and Middle Eastern — touristy but genuinely cheap
- The Sorbonne itself can't be entered without a reason, but its surrounding streets and courtyards are free to wander
- Hours
- Neighborhood always open
- Price
- Free to wander
- Tip
- Come hungry — this is one of the few central neighborhoods where a full meal still costs under €15.
Nearby
- P Panthéon · monument
- S Shakespeare and Company · bookshop
- J Jardin du Luxembourg · garden