The Literary Left Bank, a Self-Guided Paris Walk
2h15. 1.7 miles. From Pont des Arts to Jardin du Luxembourg.
Follow the ghosts of the writers who made the Left Bank a legend: Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Sartre and de Beauvoir, the Lost Generation bookshops and cafes. A walk for readers, ending in the garden they all loved.
The local move
Read the plaques. Half the buildings here carry a small marble sign, 'here lived', 'here died', 'here wrote'. Slow down and you're walking through a century of literature, one doorway at a time.
Best time to go
Afternoon, ending at the Luxembourg for the golden-hour readers and chess players.
The stops
Pont des Arts
The wooden pedestrian bridge across the Seine, all artists and river views, once weighed down by love locks.
Tip: A fine place to start with the river and the Institut de France dome ahead of you.
Rue de Seine
A street of art galleries and old bookshops running up from the river, unchanged for decades.
Tip: Wander the galleries; most welcome browsers. George Sand and Baudelaire both lived on streets nearby.
Le Procope
The oldest cafe in Paris, opened 1686, haunt of Voltaire, Rousseau and the Revolution's leaders.
Tip: Peek into the Cour du Commerce Saint-Andre passage it sits on; the cafe itself is a full sit-down meal.
Les Deux Magots
The literary cafe of the existentialists, where Sartre and de Beauvoir held court daily.
Tip: A coffee at the bar is the affordable way to sit in the history. The terrace is pure people-watching.
Rue de l'Odéon
Home of Shakespeare and Company's original address, where Sylvia Beach first published Joyce's Ulysses.
Tip: A plaque at No. 12 marks the spot. The street runs handsomely up to the Odeon theater.
Jardin du Luxembourg
The garden where Hemingway walked hungry and half of French literature came to think.
Tip: Grab a chair by the pond. Hemingway wrote about strolling these paths in A Moveable Feast.
About these walks
This is one of the free self-guided Paris walks written by the Chic Trip team, locals who plan and book full Paris trips for American travelers. Get our free insider Paris guide at chic-trip.com/free-paris-guide, or have us plan your whole trip at chic-trip.com/paris-travel-planner.
