The 5th arrondissement of Paris (also known as "arrondissement du Panthéon") is one of the 20 arrondissements (administrative districts) of the capital city of France.
Situated on the left bank of the River Seine, it is one of the central arrondissements of the capital. The arrondissement is notable for being the location of the Quartier Latin, a district dominated by universities, colleges, and prestigious high schools.
It is bordered to the north by the Seine and the 4th arrondissement, on the west by the 6th district, and to the south by the 14th and 13th arrondissements.
The 5th arrondissement is also one of the oldest districts of the city, dating back to ancient times. Traces of the area's past survive in such sites as the Arènes de Lutèce, a Roman amphitheatre, and the Thermes de Cluny, a Roman thermae.
Before setting off to explore the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower, you really must look around the Latin Quarter, take a seat on a café terrace in Saint-Séverin and go up and down the Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Champs-Elysées. You should wander along the banks of the Seine, listen to the buskers playing guitars or accordions resonating from the underside of a bridge, have a rummage amongst the books sold by the famous 'bouquinistes' and gaze at the steeples of Notre-Dame above the Seine, one of the most famous views in the capital.
You should also take a stroll along Rue Mouffetard, the once working class area of Vieux Paris that has now been renovated and become a trendy neighbourhood. The 'bobos' (bourgeois bohème) like to have brunch in its cosy restaurants that have replaced the local bistros that, on the dot of ten o-clock suddenly filled with the local market gardeners lining up in front the bar for a glass of white wine.
The points of interest of this district: Boulevard Saint-Michel. Musée National du Moyen Âge. Quartier Saint-Séverin. Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. Rue Mouffetard. Le Jardin des plantes. Val-de-Grâce. The Sorbonne. the church of Saint-Séverin. The church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre. Rue de la Huchette. Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. Le Panthéon.
