We are staying on Ile Saint-Louis in the Seine River in beautiful Paris. It is one of two natural islands in the river. The other one is Ile de la Cite where Notre Dame is located. Ile Saint-Loius is connected to the rest of Paris by four bridges. It is in the 4th arrondissement of Paris and has a population of 4,453.
We have everything we need for our stay on the island. There are food markets, restaurants and cafes, bakeries, specialist cheese shops, boutiques and more. Importantly the island has its own ice cream, Berthillon. The island has changed little in appearance since the 17th century.
There are several places to buy your Berthillon ice cream, which is fortunate, there are queues most days, especially weekends.
There is also a rival.
This is where I bought, and ate, this.
We had coffee and croissants at the cafe under the tree on our first morning.
We didn’t do it again. The coffee was awful and the price outrageous.
We found a great place close to our apartment called Noir that serves excellent coffee at a slightly more reasonable price.
The church of Saint-Louis-en-I’lle in rue Saint-Louis, which runs the length of the island from east to west. It was begun in 1664 and completed in 1726. It is being renovated right now and is not open to the public.
The walks around the island and across the bridges offer wonderful views up and down the river.
There is a small park at the end of the island with a children’s playground.
Ile Saint-Louis is an excellent base from where we can walk easily to the things we want to see in Paris. The Marais is a short walk away and I spent most of our first week exploring this wonderful area. Photos to follow.
On the other side of river is the Latin Quarter, or 5th Arrondissement, home of the Sorbonne and the Pantheon. I walked through there this morning, had a coffee at Shakespeare and Company Book Shop, a quick look through the shop, then kept walking to the stunningly beautiful Luxembourg Gardens. There is much to love in Paris.