Latin Quarter in Paris

Begin your morning at the Musée de Cluny, where medieval tapestries — including the enigmatic Lady and the Unicorn series — fill the rooms of a Gothic mansion built directly over 1st-century Roman baths. A short walk leads to Saint-Séverin Church, whose twisted spiral column and abstract stained glass by Jean Bazaine make it one of the Latin Quarter's hidden architectural treasures. Continue uphill to Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, home to the last surviving rood screen in Paris, then step next door into the Panthéon to stand beneath Foucault's pendulum and descend into the crypt where Voltaire, Hugo, and Marie Curie rest. From there, wander through the narrow streets of the Latin Quarter itself — past the Sorbonne, along Rue Mouffetard, through squares where medieval scholars once debated in Latin. End the day among the formal parterres and chestnut allées of the Luxembourg Gardens. The Musée de Cluny is closed on Mondays, and the Panthéon closes on January 1, May 1, and December 25.