Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Pres, Paris

Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Pres is all that remains of a sixth-century abbey of the same name, destroyed during the French Revolution. With royal patronage, it soon became one of the wealthiest abbeys in France, as well as a center for scholars. King Childebert I commissioned the abbey and church to house. The abbey got its named from Childebert's close advisor and the Bishop of Paris, Germain--who was later canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. Among its claims to fame are the facts that Louis-César de Bourbon, son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, was an abbot here and that philosopher René Descartes was buried here. To visit Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Pres and other attractions in Paris, use our Paris travel planner .