Paris (MP3): St Germain des Prés

Welcome to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the heart of chic Parisian living. These gorgeous streets have long inspired the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Picasso and Oscar Wilde. Saint Germain shimmers with movie glamour too - so many films have been shot here; remember Jean-Luc Godard's masterpiece of the New Wave, Breathless? This district is edgy, energetic – and in the cool 1950s & '60s, students from across the world flocked to the area as the epicentre of intellectual life. Aurore Kahan will guide you through some of the most exciting landmarks of the area, but take a detour whenever you feel like it. There are lots of side streets to get happily lost in, and of course plenty of cafés in which you can pause and watch the life of the city flow by. You can visit museums, galleries, ancient sites and delightful Parisian shops.