Situated at the junction of the ancient ‘rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève’ & the ‘place du Panthéon’, “The Bombardier” is surrounded by & immersed in the history of Paris.
La Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, named in honour of the young woman who rallied the Parisians against the invading Huns in the 5th century A.D., follows the line of the ancient Roman route from Lutèce to Lyon.
The neighbourhood lies within the wall constructed in the 12th century by the king Philip Auguste as protection for his capital whilst away on campaign in the Third Crusade. Remains of the wall can still be seen on rue du Cardinal Lemoine, not five minutes from the front door of “The Bombardier”.
Sainte-Geneviève’s relics are faithfully conserved and enshrined in the beautiful church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, whose 17th century clock tower has recently undergone extensive renovation.
Louis XV, in thanks for his recovery from illness, commissioned a church in her honour, renaming the square place de la Sainte-Geneviève. Designed by the architect Soufflot, who died before it’s completion, the building, after almost a century of fluctuating between church & state, settled into it’s present role – the imposing Panthéon, designated by the masters of the Revolution as a temple to Reason & a monument to the great men (and one women; Marie Curie being the sole female to be so honoured) of the Republic. One of the first ‘residents’, Mirabeau, was soon after dePanthéonised, his remains being transferred to the cimetière du Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, which, on examining old maps of the area, was located on the present-day site of “The Bombardier”.
One of the oldest neighbourhoods of Paris, after Ile de la Cité, the Latin Quarter (so called because Latin was an official language well into the 17th century), has long been the educational heart of the city. The university, founded in 1215 by one Robert de Sorbon, originally as a school for the poor, has become the world-renowned Sorbonne.
No account of the history of the Latin Quarter could be considered complete without mentioning the events of May 1968. The events which led to ‘the battle of the Sorbonne’ are many & varied, and beyond the scope of our little ‘site, but it is worth remembering that our beautiful, tranquil corner of the city was surrounded by burning barricades on the infamous night of May 10th, & running conflicts between demonstrators & police carried on until 6 a.m. in the quartier Mouffetard.
“The Bombardier” has been humbly nestling in this aura of greatness since 1997. Though by no means the first British pub in Paris, it has established itself as one of the most genuine and popular. Our location attracts a wide range of people; students both French & foreign, ex-pats, tourists, local residents & professionals, all of whom mingle happily in “The Bomb”, creating a friendly, cosmopolitan atmosphere, very much in keeping with the spirit of Paris itself.