Saint-Germain-des-Pr\u00e9s can be touristy, but it\u2019s also home to fantastic cafes and shops ranging from the authentically Parisian to the avant-garde.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is the heart of Paris’s Left Bank, the literary center<\/a> of the capital. Cafe de Flore<\/a> and Les Deux Magots<\/a> were centers of literary life of Paris in the 1930s to 1960s\u2014and they’re still going strong. But modern Germanopratins<\/em> (the wonderful name for inhabitants of this district!) are heading elsewhere for their coffee and food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just where are they going, exactly? Most likely to one of these Saint-Germain-des-Pr\u00e9s restaurants. Here\u2019s where you\u2019ll find some of the best bites this side of the Seine. <\/p>\n\n\n

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1. Boot Cafe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Boot Cafe<\/a> actually started up in the Marais\u2014in an old shoe repair shop, hence the name\u2014before opening its second branch in Saint Germain. It’s a cafe that has a much more Anglo feeling than most in Paris. Pastries here include brownies, banana bread, homemade granola, carrot cake and even scones with jam and cream. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coffee is excellent (from Belleville Brulerie<\/a>, in northern Paris), and if the prices are a little on the high side, that’s par for the course in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n