How to Spend a Perfect Weekend on Paris’s Left Bank

When it comes to stealing a weekend in Paris (as I did most recently after an overnight on the Venice Simplon-Orient Express), I confess that my taste runs straight to the medieval (Roman, actually). While each arrondissement offers architecture, culture, food, and shopping, both enduringly established and excitingly à la mode, when I’m in Paris, I head for the ancient cobblestoned streets of her oldest district—the Latin Quarter and her environs of the Left Bank—numerically, the 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th arrondissements.

What do I love about this part of Paris? First, its form.

While Napoleon III’s radical redesign of Paris (by the hand of civil engineer Baron Haussmann) signaled a 19^th-century modern city to the world with radial, grand boulevards, it wiped out much of Paris’s twisting, warrenlike medieval infrastructure. But one area remained largely untouched—the city’s oldest district, one built originally by the Romans along the Seine (hence “Latin Quarter”). And for me, this is the urban scale I adore: I always feel a bit of vertigo on big, broad, and very straight avenues, no matter which city I’m in. For me, the older, compressed cityscape born of historic necessity feels intimate and more to the human scale. And it’s perfect for wandering—a deep Parisian pleasure.

It’s not as trendy to be in the Latin Quarter and environs, as say, in the Marais currently. But it’s pure Paris. It’s deep Paris. Despite the tourists, it’s stubbornly enduring Paris. And when you spread your wings into the stunning and classic corners of the Left Bank in general, there seems nothing more classic and satisfying than a weekend here.

Yes, you’re allowed to venture out (as I did on my last visit for an absorbing afternoon at the Fondation Louis Vitton and a perfect pastis across the river at the Provençal jewel box that is Chez Janou), but spend your days largely among the cobblestones and you’ll discover—or rediscover—delights both traditional and surprisingly new. Here’s the key to a perfect weekend in the Latin Quarter and the Left Bank.

Where to Stay on the Left Bank of Paris

If the French had a phrase for game-changer, they’d murmur it when appraising EQ Group’s stunning reimagining of a circa-1950s Latin Quarter building just a five-minute walk from the Seine. With that location, Hôtel Dame Des Arts’s 109 bedrooms and suites make it an ideal basecamp for jumping into all things Left Bank, and that’s reason enough to stay.

But the lures behind its quiet glass façade slow my roll. First, more than a third of the rooms, sleekly and warmly imagined by Paris’s own Raphael Navot, have private terraces and views of the enchanting rooftops of the district. It’s easy to linger in one’s bed, in other words—not a bad Parisian occupation when you think about it.

In the ground floor restaurant, Navot’s inviting banquettes and a palm-dotted inner courtyard slow one’s roll even more—as do chef Othoniel Alvarez Castaneda’s Mexico-shows-France-a-thing-or-two menus. But Hôtel Dame Des Arts's superpower is its rooftop, which commands a 360-degree view of Paris like a Wes Anderson stereoscope.

It takes the breath away, truly—and cocktails up there are the ideal companion to scouting landmarks from the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Coeur Montmartre to Les Invalides and Notre Dame. As I’ve said, it’s a bit hard to leave, but so fabulous to return to.

Where to Eat on Paris's Left Bank

It’s tempting to pout about how popular everything in Paris seems to be in the travel-fever years since the pandemic. How it’s impossible to do what I used to in the city—which is simply wander, get hungry, and settle into yet another marvelous meal from steak au poivre to the Latin Quarter’s trademark tagines, but now it is increasingly about making reservations, eating early, eating lunch, and just making a bit more of a plan. So be it. It’s still eating in Paris. Here are my favorite spots of late to fill a weekend with flavors new and old.

Let’s begin with something so Gallic, it can’t be overlooked: oysters. For this, I head straight to Huîterie Régis, the tiny, white-walled palace to oysters and her companion fruits de mer: shrimp, clams, periwinkles, and a complement of wines finely tuned to the key of sea. The original Régis turned over the landmark to younger owners in 2021, and frankly, it’s even better now, with biodynamic wines and a youthful elan. I wait for the opening hour of lunch and get my choice of table.

While I always love the traditional spots that line boulevard Saint-Germain, I’m increasingly lured to the neighborhood’s smaller wine bars. My two latest favorites are the natural-wine-forward La Crèmerie on rue du Quatre Vents just off the boulevard and in the 7^th, Sauvage on rue Cherche-Midi (rumored to be Wes Anderson’s favorite). But when I yearn for a small, old-school bistro with classical trappings, it’s back to the Latin Quarter and straight to the red banquettes at cozy Allard, hidden away on rue Saint-André des Arts.

For croissants in the morning, I take advantage of the around-the-corner, Latin Quarter location of La Maison d’Isabelle. Why? One glance at the blue awning shading the sidewalk along boulevard Saint-Germain will spell it out: a highly coveted honor as the best all-butter croissant in Paris in 2018. I trust the judges, and always tuck in for a visit.

In a city replete with sweets, my new favorite pilgrimage is to the 7^th arrondissement location of Tapisserie, for its signature choux à la flouve—cream puffs infused with a grassy essence that is pure botanical delight. While in the 7^th, I always swing by Debauve & Gallais on rue des Saint-Pères at some point to pick up my favorite gift: the historic chocolatier’s Pistoles de Marie-Antoinette—dark chocolate “coins” created by Sulpice Debauve, the royal family chemist, to help the queen take her medicine.

I believe it all, and never leave without a box. In the Latin Quarter, it’s worth making a reservation to experience the elegance at Carl Marletti. My longtime favorite are the elegant, plump religieuses (little stacked cream puffs in rose, coffee, and chocolate varieties); ardent fans love to splurge Marletti’s lunchbox platters (les plateau de Tailles Lunch) with a selection of nine or 20 pieces, because who can choose and you only live once.

Where to Shop on Paris's Left Bank

The embarrassment of shopping riches on the Left Bank can never be celebrated enough. Whether it’s crowding into the historic Magasin Sennelier (for Caran d’Ache pencils and blank books) across from the bouqinistes along the Seine or plying the traditional decorating giants like Pierre Frey’s showroom in the 6^th, or merely following one’s nose (and tips from friends) for surprising gems, the shopping world here is a world of hide and seek, hunt and gather. To the wanderer go the spoils.

In the 6^th not far from Debauve & Gallais, it’s worth setting time aside to browse the midcentury vintage pieces (through to the 1980s—so much fun) at L’Atelier 55. From objets to furniture, and with a deep grasp of 20^th-century French and Italian designers, this is essential shopping. In perfect contrast, I love browsing the sublimely understated canvas and leather satchels and travel cases in the soothingly minimalist L/UNIFORM at 1 quai Voltaire near the Pont des Arts.

Other recent favorites: In the 6^th arrondissement, the opulently colorful necklaces and bangles at Marie-Hélène de Taillac on rue de Tournon; superb porcelains for table and beyond (including showstopping 18^th-century-script monogramming) at Alix D. Reynis on rue Jacob; gorgeously packaged and subtle cosmetics and scents at the historic apothecary Officine Universelle Buly on rue Bonaparte (more remarkable personalization with nibbed pens, here done on site as you watch, mesmerized); and Japanese ceramics and antiques in tiny 1to7 on rue des Grands Augustins.

In the 5^th, I never miss the latest superbly curated ceramics—including highly collectible aptware—at Eric Goujou’s La Tuile à Loup; and in the 7^th, the exquisite fans (as in ones you grasp, provocatively, or perhaps better displayed as objets) at the historic maker Duvelleroy on rue Amélie; and upscale kitsch (as only the French can pull off) amid historic taxidermy and museum of natural history vibes at Deyrolle on rue du Bac. (Don’t expect to Instagram here, however—no photos, and god bless the French for drawing the line.)

Cool Things to Do on Paris's Left Bank

Two final things, only in Paris and special to the Left Bank. Set aside one evening for a dose of pure Parisian intellectual homage with a show at Theatre de la Huchette, the tiny theater where avant-garde playwright Eugène Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano and The Lesson have been playing repertory for a record-breaking 67 years (shows run with subtitles on Wednesdays).

And after an afternoon spent meandering the Jardin des Plantes, head to the historic La Mosquée de Paris’s famed little tea house, but don’t stop for tea. Bustle past the patrons and push through what can only be described as a secret entry (a bit of a velvet curtain, actually), and emerge into the Hammam La Mosquée de Paris.

You’ll absolutely get Istanbul vibes as you pay for scrubs and a towel and make your way among the steamy, tiled rooms of this historic venue. Students love it and old timers love it, so don’t expect a Right Bank spa environment. But emerge, steamed and scrubbed and perhaps even massaged, into the magic of the Left Bank, to find your next delight. Or cocktails back on that dreamy rooftop.

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