Does anyone out there know St. Germain des Pres well enough to tell me which areas (St. Sulpice, Odeon, Jardin Lux., etc.) are the best for proximity to cafe life, bookstores and produce markets, but that aren't too noisy after midnight? Is it less frenetic up near the Seine or more towards the gardens?

St Sulspice is the quiet one, Odeon near Blvd St Germain may be the noisiest,and around the Luxembourg Gardens is pretty quiet.<BR>I would pick either the LG or St S..<BR>They are all just blocks from the main Blvd and all the cafes and stores, the whole area is full of cafes and shops.The produce mkt being on rue de Buci? that is close by also.I think closer to the Gardens is calmer, near the Seine can be quite noisy.<BR>Hope this helps~C

Thank you for replying, that sounds really helpful.

I'd agree with that, if you want a calmer atmosphere, I wouldn't stay around Odeon. I know the bookstores pretty well in that area. The mainstream ones are on bd St-Michel between the Luxembourg metro and the Seine; there are several outposts of Gibert Jeune, a very large bookstore which I like a lot. They usually have some good special deals out on tables in front, I've picked up some good books with historical photos, and art and history books. There is also a nice bookstore around the corner on rue de Medicis next to the Orbital cyber Cafe which has some good art and architecture books. The owner is friendly. There are various places for student books in that quarter, medical, etc. <BR><BR>La Hune next to Cafe Flore is a good bookstore; it has a particularly good collection of art books, philosophy, special interest, magazines, etc., although I prefer Gibert Jeune for an all-purpose site. There used to be at least one, maybe more, paperback bookstores on bd St-Michel, Hachette was one. I think that one may be gone, I'm not sure. There are some small or secondhand ones above Luxembourg stop on bd St-Michel and a few west of La Hune on bd St-Germain. There are also various antique and specialty bookstores within St-Germain, I remember some on rue de Seine or rue Bonaparte. There are also quite a few on bd Montparnasse. Depends what you are looking for. For cookbooks, there is a good one in the Latin Quarter near the Seine, and one near Val de Grace.

I think the rue Jacob is a great location, with some nice hotels, such as Des Marronniers, Deux Continents, and Angleterre. It's just around the corner from Deux Magots, and there are bookstores, antique shops, fabric shops on it.

on rue jacob don't forget Hotel Du Danube

Rue Jacob or Rue dauphine?? for lodging??