Akila Apart City 
Akila Apart City
Exploring Paris from your door
The Latin Quarter has the rare advantage of being in the middle: a good share of what people come to Paris to see is within walking distance. Here are the monuments, museums and gardens sorted not by fame but by how long they take to reach from our apartments in the 5th.
On foot from the Latin Quarter
Everything below is reachable without public transport from rue Valette or boulevard Saint-Michel. Times are indicative, at a normal pace.
The Panthéon
2 minutes' walk
It closes the view up rue Valette. Begun as the church of Sainte-Geneviève, now the mausoleum of the Republic's great figures. From the colonnade the view runs from the Luxembourg to the Eiffel Tower.
The Sorbonne
5 minutes' walk
The historic university of Paris, born in the 12th century. It is not open to visitors, but place de la Sorbonne and its fountain make one of the pleasantest spots in the quarter for a coffee.
The Luxembourg Gardens
7 minutes' walk
Twenty-three hectares of gravel, lawns and green chairs you move where you like. The model-boat basin, the beehives, the heritage orchard, the Medici fountain. Opens at sunrise.
The Luxembourg Palace
8 minutes' walk
The Senate sits in Marie de' Medici's former palace, at the north end of the garden. The Musée du Luxembourg, in the old orangery, hosts major temporary exhibitions.
Notre-Dame de Paris
10 minutes' walk
The Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, reopened after its restoration. The parvis, the square behind the apse, and the point zéro of France's roads under your feet.
The Jardin des Plantes
12 minutes' walk
Twenty-eight hectares of botanical garden listed as a historic monument, with the great glasshouses, the rose garden and the botanical school. Entry to the garden itself is free.
The natural history museum
12 minutes' walk
Inside the Jardin des Plantes. The Grande Galerie de l'Évolution with its procession of mounted animals, the palaeontology gallery and its rows of skeletons, and the menagerie.
Café de Flore
12 minutes' walk
Saint-Germain-des-Prés and its literary cafés, on the edge of the quarter. Expensive, touristy, and still a fine terrace from which to watch the boulevard go by.
Pont des Arts
15 minutes' walk
The footbridge linking the Institut de France to the Louvre. The padlocks are gone; the view of the Île de la Cité at sunset is not.
The Hôtel de Ville
15 minutes' walk
Paris city hall since 1357, in a neo-Renaissance building rebuilt after the Commune. The square hosts free exhibitions and an ice rink in winter.
The Louvre
20 minutes' walk
The largest art museum in the world, across more than seven hectares of galleries. Better to arrive with two or three rooms in mind than with the ambition of seeing it all.
The Centre Pompidou
20 minutes' walk
Rogers and Piano's inside-out architecture, the national museum of modern art, the public library and IRCAM. The Stravinsky fountain is right beside it.
The Musée d'Orsay
20 minutes' walk
The former Orsay railway station, now the museum of French art from 1848 to 1914. The largest Impressionist collection in the world, under the glass roof and the great clock.
The Tuileries Garden
25 minutes' walk
The formal garden between the Louvre and the Concorde, laid out for Catherine de' Medici and redesigned by Le Nôtre. The Orangerie and its Water Lilies sit at the western end.
Place des Vosges
25 minutes' walk
The oldest planned square in Paris, at the heart of the Marais. Thirty-six brick-and-stone pavilions around a garden, with Victor Hugo's house at number 6.
Fifteen minutes by métro or RER
From Cluny-La Sorbonne, Maubert-Mutualité or the Saint-Michel Notre-Dame RER station, all a moment from the apartments in the 5th.
The Eiffel Tower
RER C from Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, about 15 minutes
Three levels, the top platform at 276 metres. Booking online spares you much of the queue, especially between April and September.
The Champ de Mars
RER C, about 15 minutes
The great lawn at the foot of the tower, between the École Militaire and the Seine. The best place to watch the hourly sparkle without the Trocadéro crowd.
The Trocadéro
Métro 10 then 6, about 25 minutes
The esplanade of the Palais de Chaillot, facing the Eiffel Tower across the Seine. This is where the photograph is taken, and where everyone takes it.
Tour Montparnasse
Métro 10 then 4, about 15 minutes
Two hundred and ten metres of offices, and the rooftop terrace with all of Paris below. Its advantage over the Eiffel Tower: the Eiffel Tower is in the picture.
Les Invalides
Métro 10, about 15 minutes
The royal hospital of Les Invalides, the army museum, and the gilded dome under which Napoleon lies. The esplanade runs down to the Seine.
Place de la Concorde
Métro, about 20 minutes
The largest square in Paris, the Luxor obelisk at its centre, the Tuileries on one side and the Champs-Élysées on the other.
Place Vendôme
Métro, about 20 minutes
Jewellers, grand hotels and the column in the middle. A square to cross rather than visit, on the way to the Opéra.
The Palais Garnier
RER B then métro, about 20 minutes
The grand staircase, the foyer, Chagall's ceiling and the horseshoe auditorium. Open to visitors by day, independently of performances.
L'Olympia
RER B then métro, about 20 minutes
The first music hall in Paris, opened in 1893. Piaf, Brel and the Beatles played here, and the programme still runs, concerts and stand-up alike.
Boulevard Haussmann
RER B then métro, about 20 minutes; 10 minutes on foot from Le Bellefond
Galeries Lafayette and its dome, Printemps and its rooftop terraces. This is the shopping address, and it is ten minutes on foot from Le Bellefond.
The Grand Palais
Métro, about 25 minutes
The nave and its 1900 glass roof, listed as a historic monument, home to major exhibitions and events.
The Champs-Élysées
RER B then métro 1, about 20 minutes
Nearly two kilometres between the Concorde and the Étoile. Shops, cinemas, the Bastille Day parade and the finish of the Tour de France.
The Arc de Triomphe
RER B then métro 1, about 20 minutes
The rooftop terrace looks down the twelve avenues of the Étoile. Access is through the underpass, never across the roundabout.
The Sacré-Cœur
RER B to Gare du Nord then on foot, about 30 minutes; 20 minutes' walk from Le Bellefond
The white basilica at the top of the Montmartre hill, the highest point in Paris. Climb by the streets rather than the steps: it is prettier.
The Moulin Rouge
Métro, about 30 minutes; 20 minutes' walk from Le Bellefond
The Pigalle cabaret, birthplace of the cancan, still running. Booking is essential for the dinner show.
Worth half a day
Further out, but directly served from the neighbourhood. Plan a full morning or afternoon.
The Palace of Versailles
RER B then RER C, about an hour
The royal residence from 1682 to 1789: the Hall of Mirrors, Le Nôtre's gardens and Marie-Antoinette's estate. Allow a full day if you want the gardens too.
The Cité des Sciences
RER B then métro, about 35 minutes
The largest science museum in Europe, in the Parc de la Villette, with the Géode and the submarine Argonaute. The right call with children.
The Bois de Vincennes
Métro, about 30 minutes
The largest green space in Paris: lakes, rowing boats, the floral park, the zoo, and the medieval castle of Vincennes at its edge.
The Grande Arche de la Défense
RER B then RER A, about 35 minutes
The hollow cube that closes the historic axis, in the business district. The roof is open to visitors and the view runs all the way to the Louvre.
One note for Le Bellefond, our address in the 9th: the distances below are measured from the 5th. From Bellefond it is the department stores of boulevard Haussmann, the Opéra, Montmartre and the Moulin Rouge that become the walks, and the Latin Quarter that is a métro ride away.
Book direct, at the best rate
The same apartment, the same calendar, without the platforms' commission. Write to us if you are hesitating between two addresses, we answer the same day.
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