Saint-Germain-des-Prés sold its bohemia years ago and kept the address. The trick is to walk it in the right order: the church first, the cafés second, and the gallery street that has quietly outlasted both.
Start at the abbey church — the oldest in Paris, a Romanesque tower that has watched the neighbourhood become a brand. Go in early, while the painted nave is still empty. Then out to the corner where Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots face off; you can skip the coffee and just read the history off the awnings. South to rue de Buci for the market — oysters, fruit, a queue at the boulangerie — and pick something up to carry.
Now the real walk: rue de Seine, one small gallery window after another. Detour to Place de Furstemberg, four trees and the old Delacroix studio, a square almost nobody finds. End at the river by the Institut de France, where you cross the Pont Neuf or follow the bouquiniste boxes along the quai. The metro is on the far side.
