After World War II, Saint germain des Pres became synonymous with intellectual life centred on bars and cafés. Philosophers, writers, actors and musicians mingled in the cellar nightspots and brasseries, where existentialst philosophy coexisted with American jazz. The area is now smarter that in the heyday of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, the enigmatic singer Juliette Grécot and the new-wave film makers (such as Godard and Truffaut) However, the writers are still around, enjoying the pleaures of sitting in Les Deux magots, Café de Flore and other haunts, or in the Jardins du Luxembourg, just behind the Odeon Theatre. The 17th century buildings have survived, but signs of change are evident in the affluent shops dealing in antiques, books and fashion. Somehow, it has become an up-to-date place, through which runs Boulevard Saint Germain.
