The Latin Quarter is not quite what it was. Latin is no longer the lingua franca of Sorbonne students, nor will you find many chain-smoking intellos in the cafes of ‘Boul’-Mich’. Even so, the lively, narrow streets here are still irresistible for strolling and people-watching. The Fontaine St-Michel has long been the rendezvous of choice for blind dates and student stand-offs. East of here, rue de La Huchette has largely lost its charm to brash, tacky eateries, but the Caveau jazz cellar and the Théâtre de la Huchette have hardly changed in fifty years. Indeed, Ionesco’s absurd play La Cantatrice Chauve had its first airing in this theatre in 1957 and is still going strong, with performances every evening from Monday to Saturday. Fronting the river along rue de la Bucherie is the bookshop Shakespeare & Co. It’s not the original, but this reincarnation is still a magnet for expatriates (not least the literary giants of tomorrow who trade a few hours on the till in return for a place to crash). South of here, the Église Saint-Séverin is a jewel with sinuous carved pillars and vaulting dating mainly to the 15th century. At the corner of boulevards St-Germain and St-Michel, you can escape the bustle (if not the drone of traffic) in the medieval gardens of the Musée National du Moyen Age. In a splendid double-act, they’re laid around the walls of the ancient Roman baths. It’s a stone’s throw along rue Champollion to the Sorbonne. The university began its illustrious career in the 13th century, when this college and others hunkering around Montaigne Ste-Géneviève were formed into a guild. Fronting it, place de la Sorbonne is an unhurried square with lime trees and fountains.