6th Arrondissement - Rive Gauche: Paris

Whether or not you like what this arrondissement has become, it is undeniable that what it once was -- the center of the intellectual and artistic life in Paris and in Europe. Today it is home to Paris' richest, the haute bourgeoise and some of Paris' most expensive stores all of whom and which have all settled in here to 'en profiter' from the power this ancient bastion of Bohemian life and cafe society. Tourists flock here looking for a part of that past, but they are too late as tourists often are -- those things have gone underground and slipped away under Montparnasse into the very Bohemian 14th arrondissement and off into other corners of the city and its banlieu. Rue de Rennes is surely the best place to buy shoes in Paris and the neighborhood around St. Michel and the fountain there have loads of bars and places to eat. The hotels here are decadent like the Victoria Palace or l'Hotel des Beaux Arts, as are the restaurants. Decadent is what this quartier is best at. The neighborhood's past haunts its institutions like the Deux Magots and Cafe Flore, which feel more like memorials than cafes and where a simple espresso costs upwards of three euros. These cafés on the main streets are filled with people able to pay that price. Gone are the poor writers and poets with nothing but one euro and lifetimes of ideas to spare. This was the home of Serge Gainsbourgh and his unique house still stands amongst the swanky galleries of rue de Verneuil. Jardin de Luxembourg which stradles the 5th and 6th arrondissemnts and the surrounding greenspaces are nothing short of stunning. The past here is often more interesting than the present, but Saint-Germain-de-Prés and the 6th remains one of the most beautiful and vibrant neighborhoods in this fine city, so if you leave Paris without seeing it, certain people will say you can't say you've seen Paris. © NileGuide