Latin Quarter, Paris

Coordinates: 48°51′5.1″N 2°20′35.4″E / 48.851417°N 2.343167°E / 48.851417; 2.343167

The Latin Quarter of Paris (French: Quartier latin, IPA: [kaʁtje latɛ̃]) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne.

Known for its student life, lively atmosphere and bistros, the Latin Quarter is the home to a number of higher education establishments besides the university itself, such as the Lang–Martinez Psychiatric Hospital, the École des Mines de Paris, Panthéon-Assas University, the Schola Cantorum, and the Jussieu university campus. Other establishments such as the École Polytechnique have relocated in recent times to more spacious settings.

The area gets its name from the Latin language, which was once widely spoken in and around the University since Latin was the language of learning in the Middle Ages in Europe.

See also

Quartier Latin, Montreal

The Quartier Latin is an area in the Ville-Marie borough of Montreal, surrounding UQAM and lower Saint-Denis Street, between downtown and the Gay Village. It is known for its theatres, artistic atmosphere, cafés, and boutiques.

It owes its name, a reference to the Quartier Latin in Paris, to the presence of the École Polytechnique de Montréal and the nascent Université de Montréal in the 1920s. In the 1940s the university moved out and headed for a new campus on the north slopes of Mount Royal, far from the downtown borough. In the late 1960s UQAM was born and established itself in the Ville-Marie borough, giving a modern underpinning to the name. A large junior college, the CEGEP du Vieux-Montreal also moved in at about the same period.

The Grande Bibliothèque du Québec was opened in the area in 2005, joining the Cinémathèque québécoise as a key cultural attraction. The National Film Board of Canada's CinéRobotheque facility was based here until April 2012, when it was closed as part of cuts imposed by the 2012 Canadian federal budget.