Luxury holidays in Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Do you hear the people sing? Though you’d never guess by looking at its lovely, leafy streets, the Left Bank neighbourhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés was once a hotbed of revolutionary fervour and, later, the HQ for existentialism. Though the Jacobins have downed tools now and the ’hood is only really edgy in the sense that it’s on the banks of the Seine, we suppose you could get in the historic spirit by pondering the meaning of suffering while sipping café au lait at Les Deux Magots. But we say put down the Proust and trot the bourgeois boulevards in pursuit of contemporary art in the achingly hip galleries, designer treasures in the blingy boutiques and those adorably petite pastries from Pierre Hermé. Trop mignon, non?
When to go
The city is beautiful any time of year, though in August it can resemble a ghost town as all the Parisians are en vacances.