Places to be in Paris (for students)

The Quartier Latin on the Left Bank (mostly the 5th arrondissement) has been a student area since the Middle Ages - the name comes from the Latin once spoken by students around the Sorbonne. Today it is full of cafes, cheap eats, independent bookshops, cinemas and lecture halls, with students and academics of every nationality. It is the obvious place to start if you want to feel the student side of Paris, and it sits right next to the Pantheon, the Jardin du Luxembourg and several major libraries.

On the Place du Pantheon, the Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve is a famous 19th-century reading room and one of the best free places to study in Paris. It is both an inter-university and a public library: you can register for free if you are an adult or hold the baccalaureat, no matter which university you attend. It is open Monday to Saturday into the evening and closed on Sundays. Seats fill up fast in exam season, so arrive early.

The Bibliotheque publique d'information (BPI) is free with no registration and is a long-time student favourite. While the Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation (2025-2030), the BPI has moved to the Lumiere building, 40 avenue des Terroirs de France, 75012 Paris (near Parc de Bercy), open daily except Tuesdays. On top of that, the City of Paris runs a large free network of public libraries with work spaces and free Paris Wi-Fi (no subscription needed) - handy when you just need a quiet desk and a plug.

The Jardin du Luxembourg, between the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain, is the student garden of Paris: free, central, with chairs you can drag into the sun, lawns, chess players and a music kiosk. Its opening hours shift with the seasons (it follows sunrise and sunset), so check the official site. Across the city, the parks and the riverbanks are where students gather to picnic, revise and meet when the weather is good.

The cheapest reliable meal in Paris is the restaurant universitaire (RU) run by the CROUS: full, varied meals at a low fixed price, with a 1 euro meal for grant-holders and students in financial difficulty. CROUS cafeterias and RUs are spread across the city near campuses. Beyond that, student-heavy areas like the Latin Quarter, the Goutte d'Or and the 13th around Place d'Italie have plenty of budget eats. Always check the CROUS site for the RU nearest your campus.

When students want a relaxed evening or a proper night out, a handful of areas come up again and again:

• Oberkampf and Republique (11th): the densest run of bars and music venues, lively and unpretentious.
• Bastille: bar-hopping around rue de Lappe, easy and central.
• Butte-aux-Cailles (13th): a hilly, village-like pocket of small bars and restaurants with a young, festive crowd, quieter than Oberkampf.
• Canal Saint-Martin (10th): drinks by the water, especially in summer.
• Rue Mouffetard (5th): a classic Latin Quarter street of cheap food and student bars.

These are starting points, not endorsements of any one venue. For what is actually on (concerts, club nights, river-boat parties), use the City of Paris live agenda. And always check the Noctilien night-bus line home before you set off - the metro closes in the small hours.