The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in a reference to the seat of the Senate and its garden, is situated on the Rive Gauche of the River Seine.

It is well known for its café culture and the revolutionary existentialism intellectualism of the authors that lived there, including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Gertrude Stein, Paul Éluard, Boris Vian, Albert Camus and Françoise Sagan.

It is a major locale for art galleries and fashion stores[2] and is one of Paris's most expensive areas and one of France's richest districts in terms of average income.

The current 6th arrondissement, dominated by the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés—founded in the 6th century—was the heart of the Catholic Church's power in Paris for centuries, hosting many religious institutions.

In the aftermath of the French Revolution, architect Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin was commissioned to redesign the Luxembourg Palace in 1800 to make it the seat of the newly established Sénat conservateur.