The 6th district in Paris

The hotel Prince de Condé is on rue de Seine – a fabulous, typically Parisian street, narrow but long, that stretches across several different micro-neighborhoods, each different from one another. The street starts on quai Malaquai by the river Seine, goes through the Monnaie to the Odeon quarter, across Saint Germain des Prés and ends up on rue Saint Sulpice, next to the famous church.

Opposite to the hotel, is an old-fashion and narrow street which leads to rue Bonaparte at the level of the Beaux Arts School: it is rue Visconti, a road where many Protestants lived in the 17th century and it was known as “Little Geneva”.

In this street many specialized book shops can be found and, on the rue des Beaux Arts, you will find a multitude of good quality modern and contemporary art galleries.

At the end of the rue de Seine, on the river side, there is the Passerelle des Arts –a pedestrian bridge that takes you directly to the Louvre. On warm days, Parisians often have picnics on the bridge and enjoy listening to a band playing. Going the other way, towards Boulevard Saint Germain, take rue Jacob towards Place de Furstenberg. Allow extra time to wherever you are going, because you will want to stop in front of all the store fronts to marvel at the antiques, art, clothing etc. And once at the Place Furstenberg, enjoy a small and discrete museum where the great 19th century painter Eugene Delacroix had his studio.

The district’s landmark is the Saint Germain des Prés Church. Its history is that one of Paris itself. It is the oldest place of worship in Paris: originally a Roman temple, then an abbey under Chideric 1st one of Clovis’ sons, destroyed by the Norman invaders and then rebuilt; it is also the royal burial ground before Saint Denis.