A breeding ground of innovation for more than two centuries, the narrow lanes of St Germain are a living museum, rich in sites of literary, architectural, political and historical importance. The cafés where Danton and Robespierre plotted in 1789 to overthrow Louis XVI would also accommodate the Nazi army of occupation in 1940, go on to be patronized by authors Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, followed by students of the Sorbonne planning les événements of 1968. Sites include the building in which the guillotine was perfected, and others associated with Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and the novelist Colette.