Our last walk went in search of greenery along Paris’ old railway, la Petite Ceinture. This time we’re staying on our home turf and discovering all the great things around rue Saint-André-des-Arts, not far from our hotels – its little shops, loads of culture, great bars and restaurants and all the special touches that make Paris so special!

Here’s our photo report.

The rue Saint-André-des-Arts runs roughly east to west, sandwiched between boulevard Saint-Germain and the Seine. It’s interesting to see how the ambiance of the place changes, from the student hub of Saint Michel in the east to the more upmarket feel of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the west.

It was on the western tip that we started our walk, on rue de Buci, what is called a ‘zone de rencontre’ where traffic is limited to 20 km/h and pedestrians have right of way over cars. This is the street for buzzing bars, the Taschen boutique designed by Phillipe Starck and some great people watching…

Going from here to the western end of rue Saint-André-des-Arts bring us to the Cour du Commerce-Saint-André, a typically Parisian passageway (dating from 1730! Now a listed historic monument!) with some great restaurant terraces (like Le Procope, founded in 1686, and la Margherita), as well as little courtyards just begging to be explored.

Actually, the area is packed full of great restaurants, many of which we already tested for you over they years – Ze Kitchen Galerie and Kitchen Galerie Bis, Jacques Cagna, Le Christine and Chez Fernand. Facing the river there’s also Fogón and the venerable Laperouse where you could well bump into Gilbert & George if they’re in town.

If you’re looking for culture, this is where you’ll find two of the most revered arthouse cinemas in town – the Christine 21 (which used to be called the Action Christine, and has two screens) and the St André des Arts (three screens) – as well as a great bookshop specialised in art (and archeology, and architecture and history), and more underground, alternative booksellers like Un Regard Moderne.

It’s an area filled with history – Balzac set one of his books here, the musician Charles Gounod lived here, and Picasso painted Guernica here…

Each building has something to attract the eye. Just lift your head and you’ll see beautiful brick buildings with astonishing details, or magnificent openings to secret courtyards.

It’s also a surprising neighbourhood, with a shop selling authentic, original drawings by Picasso and Jean Cocteau, and lots of street art (bravo Invader!).

Turn a corner and perhaps (like us) you’ll come across a wood delivery for a pizza oven. Let’s just hope you won’t see a seventh floor chimney stack fallen into the street and being attended to by a host of firemen!

And of course, by the side of the Seine there are the traditional bouquinistes and a great view of the building on quai des Orfèvres, freshly cleaned.

Other surprises await you in the most unexpected places, like a frog-themed courtyard, an organic hairdresser, strange wall markings from bygone times… Keep your eyes open!

The area around rue Saint-André-des-Arts is really super interesting to explore!

To check out all our photos of the are, simply click here.