Paris Left Bank, a new plan in an Olympic year
![Paris souvenirs in the Latin Quarter of Paris.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/a32dadbd32df4c5cad7de754d81ca42a2c7ff9dc-16x9-x0y952w3024h1701.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
For the first time in its history, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will not be held in a stadium, but on a river. The river Seine in Paris, to be precise.
Many of the sporting events will be held in public places, too — in the streets of Paris.
As I pass the beautiful Alexandre III bridge, a temporary grandstand is being finished from which spectators will watch cycling events.
And so, you get a taste of what is to come in August.
The Olympics is already taking over the Right Bank of the Seine (the north side of the river in the centre of Paris) — so much so that tour companies and river cruise excursions are avoiding it, because of road closures and traffic jams which simply don’t move. Traffic will be suspended between Porte de Versailles and Suzanne Lenglen from July 25 to August 11 and again for the Para Olympics.
Fifteen Paris Metro stations will be closed to the public from July 18 as part of security arrangements.
Paris Police Prefect Laurent Nunez says: “All Metro stations leading into the protection perimeter will be closed from July 18.” He adds: “If you set up a watertight perimeter, but allow people to take the Metro and go back up in the middle of this perimeter, it’s no longer watertight.”
Locals will just have to walk to work. Just ask them about that. “We Parisiennes, the Olympics, nous t’aimons … je t’aime…” one tells me, politely, as dramatic as Piaf, raising one of her immaculately laminated black eyebrows.
With every challenge comes an opportunity, of course, and this morning I am concentrating on the Left Bank. If we go way back, the division was this — that the Left Bank was inhabited by intellectuals, academics and creatives, and the Right Bank was for business and professional people and the more money-orientated. But things are all mixed up now, of course — even in Paris, with its strict sense of both rules and anarchy. “You can be an academic and make money now,” one local confides. “It’s alright.”
It’s got everything going for it. For a start, it is cool and fresh, but the sun is shining. Tick.
I stop for espresso at a local, stand-up cafe, and it really touches the spot. The petit noir, un cafe express, is a tiny cup of strong black coffee. It’s what the French drink, and it’s what the cafe is named for. Tick.
The morning is going well and it’s barely started . . .
![Aerial view of Paris from Montparnasse Tower.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/ed9b5895dabc3c5e6ca9fe15899e9f9906288809.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
MONTPARNASSE TOWER
I start at the Montparnasse Tower observatory, which is on the 56th floor, and gives dramatic panoramic views of Paris. The Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, the Louvre . . . all seen from on high. Tickets start from €24 if bought at the ticket office, or €20 online. It’s worth every Euro, I think. The Montparnasse Tower is at 33 Avenue du Maine, and is open everyday from 9.30am. From now until September 30, it closes at 11.30pm, with the last lift up at 11pm. tourmontparnasse56.com
![Rue de Harpe in the Latin Quarter of Paris.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/cdc668ee177b5a0d7e4f63b42555a89b0d752819.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
CREPES IN THE LATIN QUARTER
It’s time for a breakfast snack. Something sweet and tasty. Some days there’s a small outdoor market in the paved area adjacent to Montparnasse Tower — and I’m lucky this morning, as it’s open, and for €3 I buy a pastry twist with sugar; a brioche, which the locals love. But the Latin Quarter in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements is famous for crepes. The reason is historical, as the Bretons came from Brittany, settled here, and brought crepes with them. They were the last distinct group of “provincials” to come en masse to Paris. While, in the early era of their lives here they were known as the “pariahs of Paris”, today they celebrate as provincials who, like many others, have contributed to the complex charm of Paris. Many were domestic servants and market gardeners — and “the sellers of crepes”. They have to be delicate. Crepes have to be paper-thin. And these beautiful pancakes can be filled with sweet or savoury fillings — from chocolate sauce to fruit or cheese, or even meat. The Latin Quarter is full of creperies, but I’m going to point to towards the family-run Les Crepes de Louis-Marie at 1 Rue de l’Arbalete. And keep these on your list: Bretons at 56 Avenue de la Republique, La Petite Bretonne at 48 Rue Mouffetard, and Creperie Chez Suzette Huchette at 17 Rue de la Huchette.
![River Seine by Notre Dame in Paris.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/c7e8b41813021bee6217621182b0969de583c61e.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
LUXEMBOURG GARDENS
We’d better walk those crepes off. Where better than Jardin du Luxembourg — to me, surely the most beautiful garden in Paris and used as a venue in the 1900 Paris Games, which gives it a particular place in Olympic history.
On the edge of the Latin Quarter where it borders St Germain-des-Pres, these elegant gardens were created by Queen Marie de Medici in 1612 and inspired by the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy, which she knew and loved. The gardens cover 25ha and are divided into French gardens and English gardens, with a geometric forest and pond between them. There is an orchard for old and largely forgotten apples, an apiary and rose collection. The monumental Medici fountain, Orangerie and Pavillon Davioud are highlights. It opens between 7.30am and 8.15am, depending on season, and closes between 4.30pm and 9.30pm. parisjetaime.com
![The Pantheon in Paris.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/f5a258d7f41b4a390d591b5c1fcfe45f04946f7a.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
THE PANTHEON
Montagne Sainte-Genevieve is a hill perched above the Left Bank — but it was known by the Romans as Mons Lucotitius. They occupied the Left Bank between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. And so it is appropriate that the Pantheon was built here — even though what we see today wasn’t built by them. This monument, shaped like a temple, has murals inside, and stairs to the upper part of its massive dome. Now, that’s another view of Paris. The Pantheon, in the Place du Pantheon, was built between 1758 and 1790, from designs by Jacques-Germain Soufflot and at the request of King Louis XV. He planned for it to be a church dedicated to St Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. But Louis XV (and Soufflot, come to that) was dead when the church was completed. The French Revolution had begun, and the National Constituent Assembly voted in 1791 to transform the Church of St Genevieve into a mausoleum for the remains of distinguished French citizens. That was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, which had been used like this since the 17th century. But the greats who have snuck in here include writers Victor Hugo and Voltaire, philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and scientist Marie Curie, the first to win a Nobel Prize.
![Paris souvenirs in the Latin Quarter of Paris.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/8ef32c67f12ffa9778aca530db30d74e445bbe83.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
STREETS OF LATIN QUARTER
I’ve spent so much time, on so many trips to Paris, just happily mooching around the streets of the Latin Quarter, and this time is no exception. This is medieval Paris, with narrow streets and lots of cosmopolitan cafes, bars and fashion shops.
So let me just throw some names at you — for their charm and intrigue . . .
Spend time in Boulevard Saint-Michel, on the Rue Saint-Andre des Arts side, then the Rue de la Huchette side. Remains of Roman baths can be seen by Boulevard Saint-Michel.
On up Boulevard Saint-Michel, by Place de la Sorbonne, I stand before the epic Sorbonne building. The Sorbonne was originally founded in 1253 by Pierre de Sorbon, as a theological college for poor students, but at the prestigious Sorbonne University, students study everything from the arts and humanities to science, engineering and medicine.
Rue Saint Jacques takes us to the Middle Ages and Musee de Cluny, at 28 Rue du Sommerard, is a museum which recalls that era. In a 15th-century building, it has medieval masterpieces, including a famous tapestry called “Lady and the Unicorn”.
I’ve walked off the pastries and crepes and it’s time for lunch . . . and for that, I am heading to the Rue de la Harpe area, for something with a Greek flavour.
This gives a moment to reflect upon where we began. And even though we were prompted by the Olympic happenings on the Right Bank to stay on the Left Bank, being on this side of the Seine makes a good day out, anytime.
![The Sorbonne in Paris.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/53ffe379a79dce57e776e6c8f018e18785af2b96.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
ALSO ON THE LIST
+ The natural history museum (Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle) and its botanical garden and greenhouses (Jardin des Plantes and Grandes Serres). The garden is also the site of one of the world’s oldest zoos, the Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes, which was created in 1794.
+ Notre Dame cathedral is just over a bridge from the Latin Quarter.
![Palace Cluny.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/541619b0902baaad556e895d3dedf33d5698f6ae.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
![Musee de Cluny in the Latin Quarter of Paris.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/16666ceb9b1e8b720118e4de67bb3c1f88b8ad1c.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
![A bookstore in the Latin Quarter of Paris.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/4ef81e10ae907e805957c99c3f1f09ca1ce276b1.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
![Rue de Harpe in Latin Quarter of Paris.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/355ee17ec79b8bbb906b849c324b58f8f32a23df.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
![Narrow street in the Latin Quarter of Paris, Rue de Huchette.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/f560affdebd568b8601b9102ff2f3f5fcd2de2c2.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
![Aerial view of Paris from Montparnasse Tower. Eiffel Tower in the centre.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15087414/d2ad20c4021ac2e889a9b130956808a8e64df4ae.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
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