1. Place St-Michel

Balzac used to draw water from the fountain (Davioud's 1860 sculpture of St-Michel slaying the dragon) when he was a youth.

2. Boulevard St-Michel

Also called by locals Boul' Mich, this is the main street of the Latin Quarter as it heads south

3. Rue de la Huchette

Though much has changed, some of the buildings are so old, they have to be propped up by timbers.

4. Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche

This is said to be the shortest, narrowest street in the world, containing not one door and only a handful of windows.

5. St-Séverin

A flamboyant Gothic church

6. St-Julien-le-Pauvre

It's one of the most frequently painted scenes on the Left Bank.

7. Musée de Cluny

Even if you're rushed, see The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries and the remains of the Roman baths.

8. Sorbonne

One of the most famous academic institutions in the world,

9. Eglise de la Sorbonne

Built in 1635 by Le Mercier, this church contains the marble tomb of Cardinal Richelieu.

10. Pantheon

Sitting atop Mont St-Geneviève, this nonreligious temple is the final resting place of such distinguished figures as Hugo, Zola, Rousseau, Voltaire, and Curie.

This part of the Left Bank was built on the Roman origins – hence Latin. The Romans provided their community with aqueduct stretched 15km/9mi brought water to the public baths, and a network of the paved roads was built. Lutècia’s main (and oldest) street was named St-Jacques (St-James in English, Santiago in Spanish) after the pilgrims who walked along it to Santiago de Compostella. The Romans built Petit Pont, Paris’ 1st bridge, in the 1st century BC and linked rue St-Jacques to the Île de la Cité (current bridge from 1853). Place St-Michel, popular starting point, decorated with fountain by Gabriel Davioud of Sainte Michel crushing the Dragon (1860). Here begins boulevard St-Michel (or Bull-Mich). The nearby metro entrance is one of the few remaining Hector Guimard Art Noueau originals. The present bridge (Pont Michel, 1857) replaced one dated from 1378. If you walk east along the quai Saint-Michel, you will see Notre-Dame across the river in all her stunning beauty, washed by the rays of a morning sun. Rue de la Huchette, which starts here, is one of Paris’ oldest streets, dating back to 1284. Its name means “street of the little through”. The street was already famous in the 17th century for its roasts and for its cutpurses. Rue de la Huchette remained disreputable into the 20th C and in the 1920s boasted 3 brothels, the most famous of which, Le Panier Fleuri, was on the south-eastern corner of rue Xavier-Privas. Rue de la Huchette also has a famous jazz club, le Caveau de la Huchette, at number 5. It was once a meeting place of the Templars of the Rose Croix, complete with an underground passage to the Petit Châtelet dungeons. Then it was taken over in 1772 by the Freemasons, who turned it into a secret lodge and added another passage running under the cloister of Saint-Séverin. During the Revolution the building was requisitioned by the Convention and used as a court of justice and prison.