The Romans, after having conquered in 52 BC the Parisii tribute settled on the City Island, spread little by little on the left bank of the « Seine », on the present Sainte-Genevieve mountain that takes its name from the one who galvanized the inhabitants of Paris at the time of the Barbarian invasions. The Romans build Thermae, a Forum, a Theatre, an amphitheatre, an aqueduct and also main roads (the present Saint-Jacques street). Today we can still discover vestiges from this time by visiting the Cluny Museum where the ancient thermae are situated.

In the XII century, the University of Paris, originally located at the Cloister of « Notre Dame » settled on the left bank and since then this quarter is marked with a strong university tradition. In 1253, Robert de Sorbon founded a school for the poor that will reach throughout time an international fame: “The Sorbonne”. The influence of the University will attract a great number of students and it will become throughout his history a power stake. This quarter is so called for we are speaking Latin, which is until 1793 an official language. The University tradition is still alive in this quarter, centre of the student opposition at the time of the May 1968 events.

We can discover magnificent monuments such as the Pantheon, which looks down upon the whole Paris, from the top of the mountain Sainte-Genevieve. The tourists come to hang around in this very lively quarter with its many pubs, restaurants, cinema’s and bookshops.