Street sign and mosaic of a man with a bottle of wine
Monday walks,  Paris,  Street art,  Street photography

Along and around the Rue Mouffetard

October 22, 2024 / 48 Comments

They say we should never go back. And yes, sometimes when we visit old half-remembered haunts we can be disappointed. They may have changed, and we almost certainly have done so. How pleasing when instead of disappointment we find delight!

On a sunny morning on our recent visit to Paris we decided to revisit an area of which we both had happy memories. Chris had lived there for some time during a post-university stint in France, and we had both enjoyed evenings out in the area when in Paris for our honeymoon. Both those events were very many years ago. Would the Rue Mouffetard have changed beyond all recognition, or would we like it just as much as before?

Graffiti of a girl in a coat
Pavement cafe
Narrow street leading to a church

On the rue de la Montaigne Sainte Genevieve

Saint Étienne-du-Mont

We started with a walk along the Rue de la Montaigne Sainte Genevieve. This led us to the church Saint Étienne-du-Mont, opposite the Pantheon. We had never visited this particular church, so we decided to take a look inside and we were very pleased to have done so.

Inside we found some striking architecture, a beautifully carved wooden pulpit and some ancient (mainly 15th century) stained glass in the old cloisters. We also saw the tomb of Ste Genevieve herself, patron Saint of Paris, although she is no longer entombed there, her bones having been burned and the ashes thrown into the Seine during the French Revolution.

Carved wooden door on a church front
Carved figure of a woman and sheep in a niche
Large church with vaulted ceiling
Wooden spiral staircase inside a church
Large organ in a church
Carved wooden figure
Ornately carved wooden pulpit
Statue of a saint in narrow niche
Stained glass window showing a church procession
Lamps and stained glass windows
Window depicting the Last Supper
Faded stained glass window
Stained glass depicting Noah's Ark

Saint Étienne-du-Mont

To the Place de la Contrescarpe

After our church visit we continued in the same direction, on what was now the Rue Descartes, to the Place de la Contrescarpe. We sat there for a while over coffees, enjoying the great Parisian pastime of people watching!

Man passing a pub with murals
Wall paintings and a lamp
Mural of a sad-looking girl
Mural of a leopard
Sign saying that Paul Verlaine was killed in this building and Ernest Hemingway once lived here

On the Rue Descartes

Man in a bright yellow jacket
Terrace of a cafe
Clown walking along a street

In the Place De La Contrescarpe

On the Rue Mouffetard

As I mentioned, this had been a favourite area for eating out when in Paris for our honeymoon, and a few years before that Chris had lived for a while on nearby Rue Mouffetard. So after our coffees we carried on down that latter road. We popped into a few shops (I bought a birthday card for a friend and a present for my sister) and took lots of photos. There was so much to see, it more than lived up to our memories of the area!

Traditional French bistro
Street musician and woman seated on kerb listening
Old-fashioned clothes shop
Small cinema
Large mural of a child
Mural of a leopard and lizard
Mural of people taking photos of a street artist
Painting on a door of a tiger
Mural of a man with a large knife under a tree

On the Rue Mouffetard

Lunchtime found us at the end of the road in the Square Saint Médard, where we had some great salads and a beer each.

Man selling books and postcards outside a church
Shops with building above decorated with paintings
Three people at a cafe table

In the Square Saint Médard

We then turned along the Rue Daubenton and past the Grande Mosquée de Paris, pausing briefly for a few photos.

Large white building with green tiled roof
Stone minaret with ornamental details around the top
Wrought iron lantern hanging from a wall

Grande Mosquée de Paris

Jardins des Plantes

From here we entered the Jardins des Plantes. A stroll through here took us down to the Seine where we sat for a while enjoying the view. There is a permanent open air sculpture museum here in the Jardin Tino Rossi.

Classical statue with two figures, one winged
Statue of a seated man
Bright purple flowers

In the Jardin des Plantes

Woman by a river with a dog
River with a boat and bridge
Man playing a clarinet by a river with a cormorant
Girl sitting by a river
Modern sculpture
Modern white marble sculpture by a river

By the Seine in the Jardin Tino Rossi

We followed the path along the river and crossed the Pont Sully on to the Île Saint Louis, one of my favourite parts of Paris, where we treated ourselves to ice creams at the iconic Berthillon. I hope that ices will prove an acceptable alternative to cake for Jo on this Monday Walk.

Carved stone face of a bearded man on a building
Man seated in a cafe by a mirror
Wrought iron balcony

On the Île Saint Louis

I last visited Paris in September 2024, when all these photos were taken

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