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St-Germain-des-Prés, and it’s become a prized address for Parisians and expats alike. Despite its pristine facade, though, this wasn’t always silver-spoon territory. Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir shared a cramped studio at 20 rue Visconti, and the young Picasso barely eked out an existence in a room on the Rue de Seine. By the 1950s St-Germain bars bopped with jazz, and the likes of Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir puffed away on Gaulois while discussing the meaninglessness of existence at Café Flore. At the southern end of this district is the city’s poshest park, the Jardin du Luxembourg, which is also home to the Musée du Luxembourg. This small museum plays host to excellent temporary exhibitions. The Musée Delacroix, in lovely Place Furstenburg, is home to a small collection of the Romantic master’s works. Not far away is the stately Église St-Sulpice, where you can see two impressive Delacroix frescoes.

Nearby in the 7e arrondissement, the star attraction is the Musée d’Orsay, home to a world-class collection of Impressionist paintings in a converted Belle Époque rail station on the Seine. It’s famous for having some of Paris’s longest lines, so a visit to d’Orsay should be planned with care. Farther along the river, the 18th-century Palais Bourbon—now home to the National Assembly—sets the tone for the 7e arrondissement. This is Edith Wharton territory, where aristocrats live in gorgeous, sprawling, apartments or maisons particulières (very private town houses). Embassies—and the Hôtel Matignon, residence of the French prime minister—line the surrounding streets, overshadowed by the Hôtel des Invalides, whose gold-leaf dome climbs heavenward above the regal tomb of Napoléon. The Rodin Museum—set in a gorgeous 18th-century mansion—is only a short walk away. Less well-known is sculptor Aristide Maillol, whose impressive private collection is housed nearby in the Musée Maillol.

TOP ATTRACTIONS FROM ORSAY TO ST-GERMAIN-DES-PRÉS

Eglise St-Germain-des-Prés.

Paris’s oldest church was built to shelter a simple shard of wood, said to be a relic of Jesus’ cross brought back from Spain in AD 542. Vikings came down the Seine and sacked the church, and Revolutionaries used it to store gunpowder, yet the elegant building has defied history’s abuses: its 11th-century Romanesque tower continues to be the central symbol of the neighborhood. The colorful 19th-century frescoes in the nave are by Hippolyte Flandrin, a pupil of the classical master Ingres. The church stages superb organ concerts and recitals. Step inside for spiritual nourishment, or pause in the square to people-watch—there’s usually a street musician tucked against the church wall, out of the wind. | Pl. St-Germain-des-Prés, St-Germain-des-Prés | 75006 | Daily 8–7:30 | Station: St-Germain-des-Prés.

QUICK BITES: Les Deux Magots, at 6 place St-Germain-des-Prés, and the neighboring Café de Flore, at 172 boulevard St-Germain, have been duking it out on this bustling corner in St-Germain for more than a century. Les Deux Magots, the snootier of the two, is named for the two Chinese figurines, or magots, inside, and has hosted the likes of Oscar Wilde, Hemingway, James Joyce, and Richard Wright. Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone du Beauvoir frequented both establishments, though they are claimed by the Flore. The two cafés remain packed, though these days you’re more likely to rub shoulders with tourists than with philosophers. Still, if you’re in search of that certain je ne sais quoi of the Rive Gauche, you can do no better than to station yourself at one of the sidewalk tables—or at a window table on a wintry day—to watch the passing parade. Stick to a croissant and an overpriced coffee or an early-evening apéritif; the food is expensive and nothing special.

Hôtel des Invalides.

Les Invalides, as this Baroque complex is known, is the eternal home of Napoléon Bonaparte (1769–1821), or more specifically, the little dictator’s tomb, which lies under the towering golden dome. Louis XIV ordered this complex built in 1670 to house disabled soldiers,