For centuries, Paris has attracted extraordinary figures - intellectuals, freethinkers, artists, writers and revolutionaries. You will find yourself spending much of your time in Paris’ Latin Quarter, an ancient area lying between the Seine and the Luxembourg Gardens. Fashionable cafés, restaurants, bars, movie theatres, classy boutiques and street vendors contribute to the rich culture of the neighborhood. The surrounding maze of narrow, cobbled streets have retained their unique character, with ethnic shops and avant-garde theaters dominated by the façades of the Pantheon, Sorbonne and Notre Dame cathedral. Many Parisians themselves dream of living in this neighborhood, a quiet area with charming old streets, gateways and elaborate gardens full of paths, lawns and tree-lined avenues. Get together with other students after classes to chat, and on warm days, locals still meet underneath the chestnut trees to play chess or the traditional French game of pétanque, a sport similar to British lawn bowling or Italian bocce.

Whether you take a boat ride on the Seine, meet friends in a chic café, jog past the Eiffel Tower, stroll through an open air market near the Bastille, hop a train to Versailles or visit the vineyards of Burgundy on the weekend, Paris is a city that provides a challenge and an experience that will last a lifetime.