Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Saint-Germain is the easiest place in Paris to be on your own. Publishers, students and old Left Bank families live here, the café terraces are full from breakfast until late and nobody looks twice at a woman reading alone over a coffee. Several metro lines meet at Odéon and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and the Louvre is a walk across the river.
Mornings start on a terrace on the boulevard, followed by a small museum and the old passages around Rue Saint-André-des-Arts. In the evening the streets between Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Seine stay busy and well lit, so walking back from dinner feels normal rather than brave. Sunset on the Pont Neuf is five minutes away.
The honest downside is price: this is one of the most expensive corners of Paris, and rooms are small. Pick a hotel within two or three streets of the boulevard rather than a bargain on a dark side street towards Montparnasse.
Local picks
For Solo Female
1BreakfastCafé de FloreIt opens at 7.30 am, which makes it one of the best places in Paris to start a day alone. Take a table on the terrace facing the boulevard, order a café crème and watch the neighbourhood wake up.
2MorningMusée national Eugène DelacroixThe painter’s last apartment and studio, hidden behind the tiny Place Furstemberg, with a walled garden you can sit in. It is small, calm and rarely crowded. Closed on Tuesdays.
3Afternoon wanderCour du Commerce Saint-AndréA cobbled 18th-century passage between Boulevard Saint-Germain and Rue Saint-André-des-Arts, lined with cafés and busy all day. Look into the Cour de Rohan through the gate halfway along.- 4Late openingMonnaie de ParisThe old mint on the Seine, with a museum of coins and medals in an 18th-century palace. It opens until 10 pm on Thursdays — a good evening plan when you do not want to sit in a bar.
5SunsetPont NeufThe oldest standing bridge in Paris is right outside the Monnaie. Stand in one of its half-moon bays and watch the sun go down over the river; the bridge stays busy with people walking home until late.
6DinnerLe ProcopeParis’s oldest café, founded in 1686 and now a restaurant open from noon until midnight. A table for one is no problem here, and the back door opens onto the Cour du Commerce Saint-André. Book ahead at weekends.- Getting aroundSaint-Germain-des-Prés · Odéon · MabillonLine 4 runs north to Châtelet and south to Montparnasse; line 10 from Odéon and Mabillon goes towards Austerlitz. After about midnight, a taxi to your door is easier than changing trains.
- Where to stayLook for small hotels within two or three streets of Boulevard Saint-Germain or Rue de Buci, where the walk back from dinner stays busy. Rooms are compact, so check the size before you book, and ask for a room off the street if you are a light sleeper.
Did you know?
| Birthplace of Existentialism Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir wrote and met at Café de Flore in the 1940s. |
| Simone de Beauvoir’s table Beauvoir worked on her books at Flore for years; the square outside the church is now named after her and Sartre. |
| A 6th-century abbey The abbey was founded in the 6th century, and its bell tower from around the year 1000 is one of the oldest in Paris. |
| Named after a bishop of Paris The area takes its name from Saint Germain, a 6th-century bishop of Paris buried in the abbey. |
