Photo Spots and Sights Near the Panthéon

Not far from the Panthéon is the spot where a famous film shot one of its best-known scenes, and plenty of visitors come to recreate it for a souvenir photo. The film follows a would-be writer who time-travels to his favorite era, the 1920s, a golden age of art. Paris in the 1920s was home to a crowd of artists including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and painters Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. In the movie, the hero hops into a car that appears out of nowhere at midnight and is whisked back to the 1920s. That car pulls up at the door of the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, just behind the Panthéon. Sit on the steps like the film's protagonist and snap a photo.

The Panthéon sits in the Latin Quarter. In the Middle Ages, scholars and students here studied in Latin, which is how the district got its name: the Latin Quarter, or "Quartier Latin" in French. It has been a university district since medieval times. Here are a few more places worth a visit nearby.

Since this is a student quarter, take a stroll around the Sorbonne at its heart. It's the university where Panthéon residents Victor Hugo and the Curies studied. Unless you're a student, you can't go inside, but there's plenty to see around it, and it makes a pleasant walk.

One stop is the Chapelle de la Sorbonne, where Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIV's chief minister and a head of the Sorbonne, is buried. If you've visited the Louvre, you may remember his tomb there. You'll also find a statue of Montaigne, where students once made wishes before exams. Say hello to Montaigne, touch his right toe, and the story goes that you'll ace your test. If you have an important exam coming up someday, try a cheerful "Bonjour, Montaigne" while rubbing his right toe.

Head down toward the Seine and there are two more easy stops. One is the Saint-Michel Fountain, a popular meeting point for international students and couples. The other is Shakespeare and Company, a bookshop Hemingway is said to have frequented. It's famous as the place where the two leads of the film Before Sunset reunite after nine years, and plenty of travelers visit. It's small, so at busy times you may have to queue, which can be a hassle, but the atmosphere inside and its charming books make it well worth a look.