Le Quartier Latin and Sainte-Geneviève Mountain

Le Quartier Latin is a labyrinth of streets, each as important as the next, as there is a strong history behind. The Sainte-Geneviève Mountain is home to several prestigious schools, and the presence of numerous students adds to the atmosphere of this magnificent suburb.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.09 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: No
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 40 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 50 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 60 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 34 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Paris (75000)
  • ⚑
    Start: N 48.842938° / E 2.352178°
  • ⚑
    End: N 48.851252° / E 2.343525°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2314OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Description of the walk

Start: Place Monge underground station (line 7).

(S) At the top of the escalator, turn left into Rue Monge. At the corner of the square, turn left into Rue Ortolan.
Take the 2nd left, Rue Mouffetard, and descend gently to the junction with Rue Jean Calvin.

(1). Turn right, pass under a porch and walk up Rue Jean Calvin.
At Place Lucien-Herr (fountain on the right), turn left at a 90° angle and walk down Rue Lhomond. At the bottom (Agro buildings opposite on the right), turn left into Rue de l'Arbalète. At the next crossroads, turn right and continue down Rue Mouffetard.
At the roundabout (central fountain), turn left into Rue Censier and walk along the square at the foot of Église Saint-Médard (church). Cross Rue Monge and continue along Rue Censier. When Rue Censier splits in two, turn left. Turn right on Rue de Mirbel, then left again on Rue Censier. At the end of the street, turn left into Rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire.

(2) Walk past the Grande Mosquée de Paris (left) and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (right). Walk along the wall of the Jardin des Plantes (on the right), then straight ahead on Rue Linné. Before reaching the Jussieu underground station, turn left into Rue des Arènes, then right into Rue de Navarre.

(3) Turn left into Rue Monge, then right into Rue Lacepède. Walk up to Place de la Contrescarpe. Go around the square to the right and take the 2nd right, Rue Mouffetard, which becomes Rue Descartes after a crossroads.

(4) Cross Rue Clovis and continue straight ahead on Rue Descartes (on your right, the former École Polytechnique buildings). Turn right down Rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. At the bottom, turn left into Boulevard Saint-Germain and follow it to Rue Jean de Beauvais.
Turn left into Rue Jean de Beauvais. Cross the Rue des Écoles. At the Collège de France, turn left into Rue de l'École Polytechnique. Take Rue Descartes, on the right.

(4) Turn right into Rue Clovis, and handrail Saint-Étienne-du-Mont church.

(5) Continue straight ahead, then turn left twice to go around the Pantheon.

(6) Turn right into Rue d'Ulm. Cross Rue Lhomond and walk past the École Normale Supérieure and the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs. At the end of the street, turn right into Rue Gay-Lussac.

(7) At the Institut d'Océanographie, turn right into Rue Saint-Jacques. Turn left just before La Sorbonne into Rue Cujas, then right into Rue Victor Cousin. Continue straight on Rue de la Sorbonne. Cross Place Paul Painlevé and take Rue de Cluny. Join Boulevard Saint-Germain and follow it to the left until you reach the Cluny-La Sorbonne underground station (line 10). (E)

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 47 m - Place Monge metro station
  2. 1 : km 0.42 - alt. 45 m - Junction of Rue Mouffetard and Rue Jean Calvin
  3. 2 : km 1.42 - alt. 36 m - Grande Mosquée de Paris
  4. 3 : km 2.04 - alt. 47 m - Rue de Navarre x Rue Monge - Arènes de Lutèce
  5. 4 : km 2.54 - alt. 56 m - Rue Descartes x Rue Clovis
  6. 5 : km 3.83 - alt. 56 m - Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (Paris)
  7. 6 : km 4.23 - alt. 58 m - Rue d'Um - Panthéon
  8. 7 : km 5.12 - alt. 56 m - Rue Saint - Jacques
  9. E : km 6.09 - alt. 36 m - Metro Cluny-La Sorbonne

Practical information

Start: Place Monge underground station (line 7).

Transport: Nearby underground stations: Place Monge (line 7), Censier-Daubenton (line 7), Jussieu (lines 7 and 10), Cardinal Lemoine (line 10), Maubert-Mutualité (line 10), Cluny-La Sorbonne (line 10, RER B access).

In the nearby area

- Rue Mouffetard
- Eglise Saint-Médard
- Great Mosque of Paris
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
- Jardin Des Plantes
- Arènes de Lutèce (off the route, access from Rue des Arènes or Rue de Navarre).
- Former Ecole Polytechnique
- Eglise Saint-Etienne du Mont
- Pantheon
- Sainte-Geneviève Library
- Institut Curie
- La Sorbonne

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 16 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
isabellicot
isabellicot

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

A route that allows you to discover a less touristy but nonetheless very interesting area of Paris.
Don't hesitate to do it

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Albert G
Albert G
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Nice exploration of the 5th arrondissement 👍

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LaLDD
LaLDD

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Discovering the grandes écoles.
Between 4 and 5, the diversions via Boulevard St Germain is of little interest.

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Dupin
Dupin

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

The route is very pleasant, with beautiful buildings to admire and beautiful gardens to walk along... so it's a historic route...

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valentine87
valentine87

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Busy trail : No

The tour does not mention some VERY interesting sites that you can pass by without seeing, in particular the Lutetia arenas and, above all, the splendid church of Ste Geneviève!
You should avoid taking this walk on a Monday, as the rue Mouffetard is very quiet... everything is closed!

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Paris-Marseille
Paris-Marseille

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A beautiful, varied route, full of curiosities, fascinating, but of course made much longer by visits to monuments (
Saint-Etienne du Mont, Saint Jacques du haut-pas) and the Lutetia arena. Delighted by this tour. Not too crowded (Covid) except for the inevitable Place Mouffetard.

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valentine87
valentine87

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : No

The tour is well explained, the map is clear BUT we miss out on some very interesting sites such as the Lutetia arena and the church of St Etienne du Mont. What a shame!!!

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lalique
lalique

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

To be perfect, it would have needed a few descriptions of what to look for

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Lemy
Lemy

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 03, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

Very interesting walk, very well explained circuit with one (minor) exception: at the first marker 4 when you come from rue Jean de Beauvais you have to turn left into rue de Lanneau before taking rue de l'école Polytechnique.
Note the symbols on the façades in rue Mouffetard at 69 and 122 (explained on a historical plaque from the city of Paris at 69).

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mojojob
mojojob

A great way to discover a lesser-known part of Paris. Very good description. We were really taken by the hand. However, we were a little surprised by the lack of activity in the park during the holiday period.
As the walk was a bit short, we extended it by the Canal de l'Ourcq, then the Canal de la Villette (by taking the Quai de la Garonne) where we stumbled upon Paris-plage without knowing it beforehand. There we had a pleasant rest.
Walk made on Monday30 July 2018.
Many thanks to you

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bedi78
bedi78

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 31, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Sunday, without rain for once. We entered the square where the arenas are, which gave many of us the opportunity to discover them. Instead of gladiators, there was a football match, and we headed back to the rue de Navarre.

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Lauzy11
Lauzy11

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 08, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Walkers will love it. But this route can be done with less walking and in a more ergonomic way.
A lovely walk.

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Marc-T
Marc-T

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Dec 05, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Enjoy a stroll through the narrow streets of the Latin Quarter

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Blandine51
Blandine51

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 16, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

I found the passage through the narrow streets a little fast and had the impression several times of "going round in circles". We added the visits to St Séverin and St Julien des pauvres, which are really beautiful. The Pantheon at dusk is really pretty in its lighting. Thank you very much.

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EZQUERRA
EZQUERRA

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 11, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

very nice walk, wonderful weather

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