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A guided tour of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the spirit and emblem of the Left Bank

What is a guided tour? A walk off the beaten track? An original route? A dive into history, big and small? The discovery of a sometimes little-known heritage? Surprises at the corner of a street, behind a gate or a porte cochere? In reality, it's all that, and above all that, it's an enchanted interlude, an hour and a half of shared pleasure. Whether you are in love with Paris, the city of all superlatives... Whether you want to enrich your knowledge of history and art history... Whether you are passing tourists or born Parisians, re-discover the city differently with these guided walks. Among all the remarkable sites that the City of Lights abounds in, the Saint Germain des Prés district is one of the editorial staff's favorites. For its famous boulevard, of course, flanked by its magnificently restored church, and the legendary brasseries of Flore and Deux Magots. But not only. After a visit to the church, the oldest in Paris, destroyed and rebuilt many times, and whose recent restoration...

Guided tour in the Marais, the historic and cultural district par excellence

The districts blessed by the gods are not lacking in Paris. But there are some which, in addition to combining all the attractions of a city of art and history, have something indefinable and which carries you away, an atmosphere of joyful freedom. Le Marais is one of them. The Marais is THE historical and cultural district par excellence! A "must", or a must, in good French! It is also the only district that spills over into two boroughs, each of them concentrating a majority of architectural gems of incredible diversity. And to think that until the Middle Ages, there were only swamps there, which had to be drained, then subdivided! This was the mission of religious institutions, very present from the 13th century until the Revolution, then that of the aristocrats, who, to get closer to their king, settled in sumptuous mansions, between courtyard and garden, where they could dazzle their hosts, and which have come down to us. To walk in this district is therefore to discover these splendid residences, as well as the royal squares. Henri IV, the "builder king" has something to do with it...