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Sorbonne

Latin Quarter


The crème de la crème of academia flock to this distinguished university, one of the world’s most famous. Today ‘La Sorbonne’ embraces most of the 13 autonomous universities – some 45,000 students in all – created when the University of Paris was reorganised after the student protests of 1968. Visitors are not permitted to enter.

The original Sorbonne was founded in 1253 by Robert de Sorbon, confessor to Louis IX, as a college for 16 impoverished theology students; soon after it grew into a powerful body with its own government and laws.

The Chapelle de la Sorbonne, the university’s distinctive domed church, was built between 1635 and 1642. The remains of Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) lie in a tomb with an effigy of a cardinal’s hat suspended above.


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Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±'s must-see attractions

Nearby Latin Quarter attractions

1. Chapelle de la Sorbonne

0.06 MILES

The Sorbonne university’s distinctive domed church was built between 1635 and 1642. The remains of Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) lie in a tomb with an…

2. Musée National du Moyen Âge

0.1 MILES

The National Museum of the Middle Ages is undergoing renovations through at least mid-2021. It will close completely for a minimum six months starting in…

3. ±Ê²¹²Ô³Ù³óé´Ç²Ô

0.18 MILES

Elegant and regal in equal measure, the massive neoclassical dome of the Left Bank's iconic ±Ê²¹²Ô³Ù³óé´Ç²Ô is an icon of the Parisian skyline. Louis XV…

4. Église St-Séverin

0.22 MILES

Extensively renovated in the 15th century, this Gothic church contains one of the oldest bells in Paris, cast in 1412. Also of note are the seven modern…

5. Fontaine des Médicis

0.24 MILES

East of the Palais du Luxembourg within the Jardin du Luxembourg is the ornate, Italianate Fontaine des Médicis, built in 1630. During Baron Haussmann’s…

6. Église St-Étienne du Mont

0.25 MILES

The Church of Mount St Stephen, built between 1492 and 1655, contains Paris’ only surviving rood screen (1521–45), separating the chancel from the nave;…

7. Square René Viviani

0.28 MILES

Opened in 1928 on the site of the former graveyard of adjoining church Église St-Julien le Pauvre, this picturesque little park is home to the oldest tree…

8. Palais du Luxembourg

0.28 MILES

At the northern end of the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Palais du Luxembourg was built in the 1620s for Marie de Médici, Henri IV’s consort, to assuage her…