La Palette

St-Germain & Les Invalides


In the heart of gallery land, this timeless fin-de-siècle cafe and erstwhile stomping ground of Paul Cézanne and Georges Braque attracts a grown-up set of fashion-industry professionals and local art dealers. Its summer terrace is beautiful but overcrowded.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby St-Germain & Les Invalides attractions

1. Musée National Eugène Delacroix

0.08 MILES

In a courtyard off a tree-shaded square, this museum is housed in the romantic artist’s home and studio at the time of his death in 1863. It contains a…

2. Institut de France

0.13 MILES

The French Institute, created in 1795, brought together five of France’s academies of arts and sciences. The most famous of these is the Académie…

3. Bibliothèque Mazarine

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Within the Institut de France, the Mazarine Library is France’s oldest public library, founded in 1643. You can visit the bust-lined, late-17th-century…

4. Académie Française

0.14 MILES

The French language and all its nuance are guarded with care by 40 Immortels (Immortals) of the French Academy, founded by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635. The…

5. Monnaie de Paris

0.14 MILES

The 18th-century royal mint, Monnaie de Paris, houses the Musée du 11 Conti, an interactive museum exploring the history of French coinage from antiquity…

6. Église St-Germain des Prés

0.17 MILES

Paris’ oldest standing church, the Romanesque St Germanus of the Fields, was built in the 11th century on the site of a 6th-century abbey and was the main…

7. Pont Neuf

0.21 MILES

Paris’ oldest bridge, misguidingly named 'New Bridge', has linked the western end of Île de la Cité with both riverbanks since 1607, when the king, Henri…

8. Square du Vert-Galant

0.22 MILES

Chestnut, yew, black walnut and weeping willow trees grace this picturesque park at the westernmost tip of the Île de la Cité, along with migratory birds…