I am back at you with a wonderful historical part of Paris that is one of my favorites and one of my work hangouts while working right by rue de Départ!! Of course, I am talking about Montparnasse.
The train station complex : Gare Montparnasse
Transports in the neighborhood: Paris tourism on transports Montparnasse
The name itself brings out the artsy, vibrant, gaiety of the Paris we came to love and enjoy , and still do. I was lucky to work by this area and enjoy all its splendor and many good restaurants and bars lol!
The name of Montparnasse is used since the 17C on the old place of the Parish of Vaugirard now part of the city of Paris by the current limits of the neighborhoods of Montparnasse 14éme district and neighborhood Notre-Dame-des-Champs 6éme district of Paris. The name given made reference to the mont Parnasse, a hill in the center of Greece that according to Greek mythology lived the muses, ; the students of the Latin quarter by 1725, call it a hill of garbage , on an artificial hill between the roads of boulevard du Montparnasse ,and boulevard Raspail. The name took force after the creation of the street rue du Montparnasse in 1773 and after been that of cours du Midy opened in 1700. The name of Mont Parnasse was given to the whole neighborhood in the middle of the 19C. However, the name of Montparnasse has a larger perimeter as many of its most emblematic places are in the neighborhoods of Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Necker , and Plaisance. It is surrounded on the North by the blvd du Montparnasse and blvd de Port Royal, to the east by the rue de la Santé, to the south by the plains of the bvld Saint-Jacques (along the line 6 of Metro), place Denfert-Rochereau, a section of the rue Froidevaux, rue Boulard , and rue Daguerre, to the southwest a section of the avenue du Maine , and on the northwest by the rue du Départ. A large part is occupy by the cemetery of Montparnasse.
Quartier or neighborhood Montparnasse No 53 in the 14éme arrondissement or district, created in 1860 and with emblematic streets such as rue du Montparnasse , boulevard du Montparnasse, and place Pablo-Picasso (the hill of Montparnasse). There is a remnants of a barrier wall build in 1786 and now demolished on what is now the Metro Edgar Quinet; and the barrier of hell or Barrière d’Enfer still existing on the wall of the general farmers building.the cemetery of Montparnasse , where rest in peace Charles Baudelaire, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Samuel Beckett, Guy de Maupassant, Serge Gainsbourg , and many more notables. The wonderful train station, my own now coming into Paris from Brittany ,the gare Montparnasse, as well as the convenient metro station Montparnasse – Bienvenüe. You go out and see the big one, the tour Montparnasse with 59 floors and 210 meters high; the vibrant Casino Montparnasse at 35, rue de la Gaîté, where it was created the operetta La Belle de Cadix in 1945, and Bourvil came to be known.
The Casino Montparnasse at 35, rue de la Gaîté, where it was created the operetta La Belle de Cadix in 1945, and comedian Bourvil came to be known. The theater Montparnasse nearby in rue de la Gaîté built in 1886, and renovated in 1930. Finally the catacombs from the end of the 18C with 6 millions bones put into subterranean galleries with an entrance at 1, avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy. The wonderful green garden of jardin Atlantique on the upper levels of the gare Montparnasse since 1990. The sculpture of the lion of Belfort,on the place Denfert-Rochereau. The Fondation Cartier for contemporary arts , the Observatoire de Paris. The neighborhood is also crossed by the meridian of Paris ; and the health prison or Prison de la Santé. Not to forget the museum of Montparnasse at 21 avenue du Maine,and the Galerie Les Montparnos, at 5 rue Stanislas, that specialise on the school of Paris of the 1920’s and the discovery of artists painters forgotten of the Montparnasse painting between the two world wars. Wonderful shopping even with Galeries Lafayette at rive gauche mall
Montparnasse rive gauche shopping mall
Books, plays, cinema all about Montparnasse made famous over the years with the restaurants La Coupole , and Le Dôme. And many Americans seeking arts with their fortunes such as Gertrude Stein, Peggy Guggenheim, Edith Wharton ,and Harry Crosby as well as critics like D.H Lawrence, Archibald MacLeish, James Joyce, Kay Boyle, Hart Crane, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Dorothy Parker, and many more.
A wonderful district and even gorgeous neighborhoods of plenty to do all day and night long. Hope you have enjoy it, and welcome. Have a great weekend of Easter, happy travels and good health to all. Cheers!!!