Left Bank (Rive Gauche)

Set on the southern bank of the Seine River, the historic area known as the 'Left Bank,' or 'Rive Gauche,' was once the stomping ground of Parisian artists, writers and philosophers, encompassing six arrondissements of Paris including the popular Montparnasse district. The area is widely known for its famous inhabitants - celebrated artist Pablo Picasso lived on the Left Bank throughout the war years, joined by French artist Henri Matisse, playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine. Even legendary American writers Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald chose the Left Bank for their Parisian base.

As it was once known as a bohemian domain where creativity flourished, the Rive Gauche is now an affluent neighborhood of middle class homes, shopping boutiques and restaurants, and also encompasses many of the city’s most renowned attractions. The iconic Eiffel Tower reigns over the idyllic Champs de Mars park; the creative hub of Saint-Germain-des-Pres draws in art lovers from all over the globe to visit the Musee d’Orsay and Rodin Museum; and the Latin Quarter (so called as its prestigious Sorbonne University brought an influx of Latin learners to the area) holds some of the most stunningly executed architecture in Paris including the Pantheon.