Carré St-Louis

This lovely green space with a three-tiered fountain is flanked by beautiful rows of Second Empire homes. In the 19th century a reservoir here was filled, and a neighborhood emerged for well-to-do French families. Artists and poets gathered in the area back then, and creative types like filmmakers and fashion designers now occupy houses in the streets nearby. The café, which opens in the summer, is a good spot for a pick-me-up, with occasional musicians creating the soundtrack for the square. Nearby students and local residents take in precious rays, while others linger puffing on strange smokes. Carré St-Louis feeds west into Rue Prince-Arthur, a former slice of 1960s hippie culture that has refashioned itself as a popular restaurant-and-bar strip.