Le Bateau Ivre

St-Germain & Les Invalides


Arthur Rimbaud's 1871 poem Le Bateau Ivre (The Drunken Boat), depicting a fantastical and frightening sea voyage of a sinking boat from the first-person narration of the boat itself using rich imagery and symbolism, occupies a 300m-long wall spanning an entire block in the heart of St-Germain. Rimbaud wrote the poem at age 16 after being inspired by Jules Verne's recently published novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The 100-line poem was hand painted on the wall in 2012.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby St-Germain & Les Invalides attractions

1. Église St-Sulpice

0.05 MILES

In 1646 work started on the twin-towered Church of St Sulpicius, lined inside with 21 side chapels, and it took six architects 150 years to finish. It's…

2. Musée du Luxembourg

0.11 MILES

This elegant museum plays host to prestigious temporary art exhibitions. Admission prices vary; it's free for under-16s. Online bookings cost €1.50 extra…

3. Orangery

0.13 MILES

Behind the Musée du Luxembourg, within the Jardin du Luxembourg, in the palace’s vintage orangerie (orangery), an elegant building filled with aromatic…

4. Palais du Luxembourg

0.19 MILES

At the northern end of the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Palais du Luxembourg was built in the 1620s for Marie de Médici, Henri IV’s consort, to assuage her…

5. Jardin du Luxembourg

0.23 MILES

This famous inner-city oasis of formal terraces, chestnut groves and lush lawns has a special place in Parisians' hearts. 

6. Fontaine des Médicis

0.26 MILES

East of the Palais du Luxembourg within the Jardin du Luxembourg is the ornate, Italianate Fontaine des Médicis, built in 1630. During Baron Haussmann’s…

7. Grand Bassin

0.27 MILES

All ages love the octagonal Grand Bassin, an elegant ornamental pond where proud parents watch their children tear with sticks after 1920s toy sailboats…

8. Église St-Germain des Prés

0.27 MILES

Paris’ oldest standing church, the Romanesque St Germanus of the Fields, was built in the 11th century on the site of a 6th-century abbey and was the main…