Paris/The Latin Quarter in review
On the Left Bank of the Seine, in the 5th arrondissement, the famous Latin Quarter of Paris has been a student hangout for centuries. The district sprang up around the Sorbonne University in the 13th century and gets its name from the language spoken there between students and professors up until the French Revolution. The Latin Quarter's cobbled streets are an arm-span wide in some places and abound with cafes, food stalls, bistros and restaurants. As night falls things get rowdy as restaurateurs try to lure patrons with antics such as plate smashing on the street outside Greek restaurants and loud touting of fixed-price Italian menus. But the quarter is also the place to enjoy an abundance of cheap traditional French food. The heart of the area is the bustling Place St-Michel, a prime people-watching hotspot at any time of day or night. And the soul of the Latin Quarter, Hôtel de Cluny, is a medieval residence that now houses the National Medieval Museum, where you can find one of the world's most precious masterpieces, "The Lady and the Unicorn" tapestry.
- From our editor T. Ireland – Sydney