Saint-Germain-des-Prés was once Paris’ artistic beating heart and a notorious meeting point for writers, Carys Sharkey checks in to Hôtel Dame des Arts to see how its legacy lives on
The neighbourhood: Saint-Germain-des-Prés
There’s a scene early on in James Baldwin’s landmark 1956 novel Giovanni’s Room in which David, a young American living in Paris, looks up at the spire of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and thinks fleetingly about his wife before spending the night drinking at a bar and embarking on a torrid affair with Giovanni. This Latin Quarter neighbourhood, that is pulled around the eponymous church like a scarf, was the epicentre of a modern city – one anchored in old morality but exploding with new ways of thinking. Philosophers and writers, from Sartre to Hemingway, would gather at cafes overshadowed by St Germain’s spire as the Parisian arts quarter radically burst into life.
The neighbourhood on the left bank of the Seine has changed over the decades. The notoriety for artists, debauchery and seedy bars has been replaced by swanky galleries and artisan shops. But some of the spirit of the past remains, and you can still pull up a chair and watch the world spill onto the cobbled square at Les Deux Magots, a famous meeting spot for writers and artists. Saint-Germain-des-Prés is also an ideal base for exploring Paris. Just a stone’s throw from the thronging crowds at the recently reopened and resplendent Notre-Dame, the area manages to retain the vibe of a village. People gather in the evening to play boules and intimate neighbourhood bistros glow amber after dark. It’s also encircled by the manicured fruit trees and fountains of the Jardin du Luxembourg, a welcome respite from the flurry of traffic and clattering plates of Parisian streets.
Credit Ludovic Balay
Where to eat
Some of the best restaurants in Paris are just a leisurely stroll to the north and onto the right bank. Cross the Pont des Arts to 19 Saint-Roch, a stylish restaurant run by chef Pierre Touitou. The food is rooted in French cooking, but with ingredients and techniques often popping up from Japan or North Africa. It’s playful, precise cooking in impossibly chic surroundings.
Even closer in Le Marais is Parcelles, a real looker with its white tablecloths, stone walls, sunken, bronzed lighting and with a low-slung cafe-curtain that blocks out half the day like a long lunch. The menu is short and elegant, the food unfussy and thoughtful, the bread wholesome and holey. Which is to say, everything they do here is done really well.
For a light lunch or afternoon cake, My Fermentation is a uniquely Parisian offering – a specialist (or obsessive) food store and cafe dedicated to the world of ferments. This place does umami-rich foods celebrating the careful curation of funk, from sourdough to miso.
Where to stay
After a day of eating your way around Paris, you’ll need somewhere to unwind and unbuckle. Hôtel Dame des Arts, which only opened in 2023, is just around the corner from Saint-Germain-des-Prés and slips seamlessly into the neighbourhood. Originally a theatre school in the 1950s, the building was redesigned by Raphael Navot with his distinct style of organic lines where contemporary chic merges with the natural world. The main lobby is brooding and sexy, with a floor made from black oak that is torched and then set in resin. The rooms are framed by sweeping, burnished surfaces. There is a stylish gym and sauna, a tranquil garden terrace and a cinema room. It might sound silly, but the place also smells impeccable. Turns out they have had their own scent designed to reflect their little corner of the 6th arrondissement, it’s all amber tobacco and pencil shavings
The keen eye for texture and natural materials extends to the 109 rooms, which are cleverly designed to maximise space in a city famously lacking it. The wood panelling lends warmth as large windows allow natural light to flood in. The standard room opens into an ensuite with a sliding door framed by reeded glass. There is a distinctly Japanese influence to the clean lines and organic flow of the room, which is perhaps a convoluted way to say it’s just very cool. The hotel also doubles as an art gallery, with over 700 pieces in its carefully curated collection on show throughout the rooms. This conscious leaning into its place in the arty heart of Paris extends to its customised literature crawls – maps designed for guests to hit up a veritable who’s who of culture.
Credit Ludovic Balay
The biggest draw however is the rooftop terrace, which has stunning panoramic views of the city. Paris is all hustle-bustle cafe culture, wine spilt on the street and cigarettes chained in doorways, so it’s a real pleasure to, literally, rise above it. Not pressed into the iron railings of the Eiffel Tower by a mass of tourists, but rather given space to sit down and sip pale Provencal rose as Paris unfurls around you. Even the most jaded Paris-Syndromed critics would be moved watching as the city slips from day into night from this rooftop.
In spring and summer one of the best things to do in Paris is piquenique by the Seine. Either pick up a bottle of wine and a couple jambons beurres yourself, or the hotel can provide you with a hamper filled with excellent bread, cheeses, meats and spreads. Just ten minutes from the hotel is Square du Vert Galant, the willow-sheltered garden at the corner of Ile de la Cite that juts out into the Seine. This is the best way to take in one of the nicest neighbourhoods in Paris: sipping wine as the city flows slowly past.