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L'Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés | |
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The oldest church in
Paris (11th century) is among its most beloved.
Its name evokes all the romance of the Left
Bank and the Latin
Quarter.
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Right next to the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Métro station on Boulevard Saint-Germain (map) is the Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés. There was a church on this spot before Rome fell to the Visigoths, but this early Parisian church was destroyed by Vikings in the 800s. St-Germain's square bell tower is the only one remaining of the original three, and therefore about a thousand years old. (Compare it to the elaborate Gothic towers and spires of Notre-Dame and later churches.)
The Romanesque interior of the Église St-Germain-des-Prés was restored during the 19th century, to the taste of the times, which is different from what was in the original church (though the lighting is a lot better now.) In 2018, extensive renovation and cleaning returned the lovely transept to its former glory. Across the parvis (area in front of the church) and Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés are two of the Latin Quarter's most historic and famous (and now expensive) cafés: Les Deux Magots and Le Café de Flore. Métro:
St-Germain-des-Pres or Mabillon
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Romanesque interior—well
lit— of the Église
Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
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