Place de la Sorbonne, Pedestrian square in the Latin Quarter, Paris
Place de la Sorbonne is a small pedestrian square in the Latin Quarter of Paris, lined with stone buildings and opening onto Boulevard Saint-Michel on one side. It connects to Rue Champollion at its northern end and features a fountain shaded by silver-leafed linden trees.
The square was laid out in 1639 under the name Rue Neuve-de-Richelieu, making it one of the older public spaces in this part of Paris. During the French Revolution, it briefly carried the name Place Chalier, in honor of a revolutionary leader, before returning to a name tied to the nearby university.
The Librairie Vrin, a philosophy bookshop that has stood at the edge of the square since 1911, is a regular stop for students and academics. The café L'Écritoire nearby has long been a gathering spot for writers and artists who work in the neighborhood.
The square is easy to reach from the Cluny - La Sorbonne metro station or the Luxembourg RER station, both just a short walk away. It is open at all times and works well as a starting or ending point for exploring the surrounding streets of the Latin Quarter.
During excavations in 2000, archaeologists uncovered remains of houses from the 1st century AD and parts of a Roman road running beneath the square. This shows that the site was already a busy passage long before the university was founded nearby.
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