Lots of tourists swarm the main island in Paris, the Ile de la Cité, home of the Notre Dame Cathedral. But far too many overlook its delightful little sister, the quaint Ile Saint-Louis, which is just a few steps away in the Fourth Arrondissement.

This small island is like an oasis from the rush of the city. It’s almost as if someone dropped a small French village into the center of Paris. It contains everything you would want from your neighborhood: markets, bakeries, fromageries, and cafes. While much of Paris has modernized over the years, this island remains romantically frozen in the 17th century. It is remarkably the same as it was centuries ago.

The Ile Saint-Louis is connected to the rest of Paris by four bridges to both banks of the Seine River and to the Ile de la Cité by the Pont Saint-Louis.