The 5th is home to Latin Quarter, named after the Latin-speaking student populace of long ago. Although today Latin has been replaced by the many languages of this popular destination, the 5th remains a lively area popular with students from the many nearby schools.
One of the best known of the city's central districts, the 5th is located on the Left Bank (Rive Gauche). Also commonly known as the "Latin Quarter" from the fact that the first great Parisian university, the Sorbonne, was founded here, the 5th was also the core of ancient Gallo-Roman Paris, as revealed by a number of rare archaeological remains to be found within the district.
The area still has a significant student presence, with several universities and schools of higher education being located in the area. However, due to gentrification, most student and faculty have been forced to live in more affordable areas such as the 13th, although many Paris apartment rentals 5th can be found here for those wishing to live in the area like a local.
Landmarks here include the Panthéon (from a Greek word meaning “all the Gods”), originally conceived by Louis XV as a grand neo-Classical church honoring St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. After the Revolution, the building was converted into a mausoleum for the great philosophers, military, artists, scientists and heroes of the French Republic. Occupants of the crypt include Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Zola, the Curies and, most recently, Alexandre Dumas (reinterred here in 2002). The view from the dome (206 steps) is fantastic. A fascinating reconstruction of Foucault's Pendulum also hangs here.
The Paris Botanical Garden, the Jardin des Plantes, was founded as the royal medicinal garden in 1626 by King Louis XIII's doctor, and contains over 10,000 species. From your long term apartment rental in Paris you will find it a very peaceful place to come stroll. The grounds also include a small zoo known as La Ménagerie and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, which includes the recently renovated Grande Galerie de l'Evolution. Its gardens include a rose garden, an alpine garden, an Art Deco winter garden, Australian and Mexican hothouses, and a maze.
An ancient Roman theatre, the Arenes de Lutece is the only surviving above-ground ruins of the Gallo-Roman era in Paris, except for the nearby Thermes de Cluny. The theatre was built in the 1st or 2nd AD and included the longest Roman amphitheater. It could hold approximately 15,000 spectators. The arena was rediscovered in the 1860s with the construction of a streetcar depot on the site. The famous Nineteenth Century writer Victor Hugo played a major role in preserving these ruins, just as he did in restoring the Notre Dame. The theatre has been preserved as a quiet archaeological park removed from the hubbub of Parisian streets.
Lovers of museums and antiquities will find plenty to satisfy them in the 5th.
Start at the Museum of the Middles Ages (Musée du Moyen Age), Musée de Cluny, housed in a 15th century abbey, alongside 1st century Gallo-Roman baths. Perhaps the most outstanding medieval building in Paris, it has an extensive collection of medieval art and artifacts. It was the town house of the Abbots of Cluny, dating back to 1334 but was rebuilt in both Gothic and Renaissance style starting near the end of the Fifteenth Century. Highlights include the medieval "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries, a papal golden rose and the original heads from the facade of Notre Dame.
The Musée Curie is a charming scientific museum that preserves the offices and laboratories of Pierre and Marie Curie, pioneers in the discovery of radioactivity, their instruments, equipment and furniture arranged as it was during their critically important research.
The Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History) was founded during the French Revolution, and is yet another popular destination.
The Thermes de Cluny are what remain of Third Century Gallo-Roman baths. Some of the original decorative wall painting and mosaics remain.
Churches also abound here, and you may wish to pass through from one of several apartment rentals paris. The Eglise Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre is particularly charming. St Geneviève was responsible for saving Paris from the Huns in 451 and her shrine in the church has been a popular place of pilgrimage ever since.
For more pedestrian pursuits, the lower end of rue Mouffetard traveling away from the Panthéon hosts an ongoing fruit and vegetable market, and is lined with food and wine shops of all kinds. Your Paris apartment rental 5th arrondissement lets you travel here and shop at a leisurely place, like a true local.
Of course you don’t want to visit Paris without exploring fine French wine and food. In addition to monuments, the 5th offers many choices for doing just that.
The Latin Quarter is home to a very wide variety of bars, bistros, restaurants, and nightclubs.
