Oh yes it has been a love affairs indeed! Paris and Montparnasse !!! I like to bring this intro to the neighborhood I onced worked in my eternal Paris. Lots of good souvenirs of going for lunches around here and seeing beautiful architecture and history all around me. This will be in my black and white series ,no pictures. Several of the sights already have a post of their own in my blog, Therefore , here is my take on this is my memorabla Montparnasse in Paris !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
Like I said, used to work next to the train station Gare Montparnasse (see posts) and did my footings all around the area , shopping, eating and sightseeing all its marvelous buildings of pure architecture and history I enjoyed so much. A vast area where there are still many symbols of the grandeur of Paris in the 1920’s and afterward,
The smaller area is in the 14éme arrondissement de Paris or district in the 53rd quartier or neighborhood. What many missed is the fact that since the creation of the new Paris by Baron Haussmann under Napoléon III in 1860 it was created into four quartiers or neighborhood per arrondissement or district ; therefore, Paris has 80 or four per district. (see posts), The Quartier or neighborhood Montparnasse No 53 in the 14éme arrondissement or district (see my posts on quartiers and arrondissements), created in 1860 and with emblematic streets such as rue du Montparnasse , boulevard du Montparnasse, and place Pablo-Picasso . There is a remnants of a barrier wall built 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.
Some of the things to see in this neighborhood are the Barrière d’Enfer on the Mur des Fermiers généraux , the second barrier of roads in Paris today and was the wall set up between 1784 and 1790. The sculpture of the Lion de Belfort in the Place Denfert-Rochereau (the symbol of the territory of Belfort ) It was done by Auguste Bartholdi and as the Statue of Liberté done by him ,both points in the same direction in Paris!
The wonderful boulevard du Montparnasse with some of the most famous cafés such as La Coupole and Le Dôme! The cimetiére du Montparnasse (cemetery) where rest in peace such names as Charles Baudelaire, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Samuel Beckett, Guy de Moupassant, Sainte Beuve, Serge Gainsbourg, etc. The wonderful metro station Montparnasse-Bienvenüe (metro lines 4,6,12, and 13) that links to the Gare de Montparnasse train station. The theater or Théâtre Montparnasse, Bobino, Theater de la Gaîté-Montparnasse, Theater Rive Gauche, and the Theater d’Edgar. The wonderful crêperies on the heights of rue du Montparnasse reminds you of little Brittany or petit Bretagne. The Fondation Cartier for the art contemporary, the Observatoire de Paris, the meridian of Paris crosses the district. And the Prison de la Santé or health prison built in 1861 and has held many notables still to this day the only prison inside Paris city limits still today!!! This area, which has become so famous, was only a place called close to the village of Vaugirard. At the site of the current Carrefour Vavin, at the corner of Boulevards du Montparnasse and Raspail, a pile of rubble had formed an artificial hillock.
Other nice things around here are the Casino Montparnasse at 35, rue de la Gaîté, where it was created the operetta La Belle de Cadix in 1945, and actor/ 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 Montparnasse rive gauche mall in the Necker neighborhood or quartier of the 15éme arrondissement or district of Paris ! The works!! 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.
Some things to see here are by the entrance to boulevard Edgar Quinet, allée George Besse, you can see a sculpture by Ossip Zadkine, La Naissance des Formes, posed here in 2012. Then go to passage d’Enfer, to the right of rue Campagne- Premiére, elegant passage , unfortunately fenced , where the photographer Man Ray lived from 1922 to 1940. Finally, in the house at 242 boulevard Raspail Picasso settled temporarily in 1911. Take Rue Campagne-Première. Note the building at no 31 magnificently clad in sandstone by Alexandre Bigot, the same ceramist who decorated the Lavirotte building. Arrived at Boulevard du Montparnasse, turn right and go to the Closerie des Lilas, one of the mythical brasseries of the district where artists and intellectuals like Gide, Jarry or Apollinaire met. Turn left and take Avenue de l’Observatoire. Note the superb Fontaine Quatre Parties du Monde or four parts of the world fountain, also called the Observatory Fountain, the work of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. Completed in 1874, it offers a superb view of the Jardin du Luxembourg Gardens. Cross the Jardin des Grands Explorateurs then turn left before the Jardin du Luxembourg Walk along rue Auguste Comte, turn right on rue d’Assas then turn rue Vavin. If you want to discover Zadkine’s work, the Zadkine Museum is located at 100 bis, rue d’Assas Zadkine was a contemporary sculptor. His former workshop transformed into a museum allows the organization of a certain number of exhibitions or various cultural events such as the presentation and signing of artists’ books, interventions, performances. At n°26 rue Vavin is a superb white ceramic building designed by the architect Henri Sauvage. Note the top floors built on a terrace.
The Musée Bourdelle let you stroll in the workshops and gardens of the late 19C sculptor Antoine Bourdelle. Bourdelle studied under the more famous sculptor, Rodin, for years. It is located at 18 Rue Antoine Bourdelle 15éme Located in the heart of the Montparnasse district, the Musée de la Poste or Postal Museum surprises us with its rich and old collections, around the postal universe. It is located at 34 boulevard de Vaugirard 15éme. After scaling the area’s heights, venture underground to explore the Catacombs of Paris. This is a labyrinth of underground tunnels, some of which have walls embedded with skulls, bones and other skeletal fragments. There are the remains of approximately six million Parisians in the catacombs, many of which were transferred here during the 18C and 19C when some of the city’s graveyards were being closed. Located entrance at 1 Av. du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy,14éme ,The Montparnasse Cemetery is somewhat unique because there are a lot of artists buried there. But mostly you can see the tomb of very well-known intellectuals and French artists like Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Charles Baudelaire along with many others. Pick up a map at the entrance on Boulevard Edgard Quinet.You take rue Huyghens then go straight to the Cimetière du Montparnasse. Take a tour of this pretty cemetery where many personalities are buried, such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Serge Gainsbourg, Samuel Beckett, Antoine Bourdelle, Ossip Zadkine, Constantin Brancusi,etc. It is located entrance at 3 Boulevard Edgar Quinet 14éme, You have spectacular views of the district or arrondissement and the rest of Paris from the Maine-Montparnasse Tower, a 700-feet (213-meters) skyscraper. Main entrance at 33 Avenue du Maine 15éme, The Paris Observatory is the oldest observatory still in use. It is actually one of the observatories that helped to launch the field of meteorology in Europe. It is located at 61 Avenue de l’Oservatoire 14éme, Then take rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs to rue de la Grande Chaumière, symbol of the great hours of Montparnasse. Built to welcome the faithful workers of the 14éme arrondissement or district at the beginning of the 20C, the Notre-Dame -du-Travail Church reveals a breathtaking iron and steel structure once you cross its threshold, At No. 10 was the Académie Colarossi, named after the sculptor Flippo Colarossi, where Rodin, among others, taught. Finally, you will see at No. 14 a painting academy founded by Antoine Bourdelle. At the end of the street, you arrive at the Carrefour Vavin, today Place Pablo Picasso. Here was the intellectual lung of the district, in particular thanks to its four large brasseries (Le Dôme, La Coupole, La Rotonde and Le Select) where artists, at the time penniless, spent more time remaking the world than to consume it.
You will follow in the footsteps of famous artists, writers and politicians with a visit to Montparnasse. In the years that followed WWI or the Great War, this area became a bohemian magnet. Among the famous names to have lived here were the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, French writer Jean Cocteau and the French poet and playwright Guillaume Apollinaire, who died in 1918. Some political exiles also made Montparnasse their home, including Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. The district was however from 1900 and especially during the inter-war period the heart of Parisian artistic and intellectual life. After Apollinaire, Gauguin, Matisse and Douanier Rousseau, many foreign artists, mostly Jews, went into exile in Paris to find conditions favorable to the development of their art. Modigliani, Zadkine, Soutine, Chagall…In the 1920’s and later on, all the artists that lived in Montparnasse would split between two cafés: the more literary Le Dôme or the more musical and for painters La Coupole. La Coupole, for instance, was painted by the very artists that would actually hang out in this café French restaurant, brasserie and piano bar La Closerie des Lilas at 171 bd du Montparnasse, dating from 1847, has welcomed Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Dali and Jagger, etc. So many names that will then form “L’École de Paris”, an appellation that designates more a group of people than a real artistic movement. The world-famous painter Pablo Picasso was one of the first artists to leave Montmartre and settle in Montparnasse, and behind him followed a flood of intellectuals and artists like Cézanne, Jean-Paul Sartre, Giacometti, Dali or Ernest Hemingway. All this intellectual and artistic effervescence really contributed to the creative and libertarian atmosphere that characterized Montparnasse in the Roaring Twenties, which can be considered as the Golden Age of Montparnasse. Les années folles translates from French to The Crazy Years. This refers to a time period in Paris in the 1920s, and you may recognize it’s American counterpart, the Roaring Twenties, The Roaring Twenties got their start with the emergence of new artistic movements such as Dadaism, Surrealism and Art Deco , The Left Bank is known as a scientific and artistic hub in Paris, and this is where Montparnasse is located. It should come as no surprise, then, that Montparnasse quickly became the place to be for artists, writers, and philosophers. the artistic movement of Surrealism, and many of the artists that belonged to this movement were known to hang out in Montparnasse. Painter Salvador Dali and writer André Breton headed this movement, and they were both living and creating in Montparnasse at this time. The Rue de la Gaieté « Gaité » literally means cheerfulness and this street is aptly named, It used to host the “guinguettes” of Montparnasse which were popular cabarets of the 19C. It is now crawling with little colorful theaters. If you want to get more than a glimpse of Montparnasse lifestyle, you can book a play at the Bobino theater for instance. Since the 1870s, this boulevard has served as a center for stagecraft; here, icons like Edith Piaf and Josephine Baker played alongside music hall royalty from the belle époque, The most famous theaters are the Montparnasse Theater or the Italian Comedy. Not far from there ,the pretty rue des Thermopyles, one of the prettiest streets in Paris, me think, The 7 Parnassiens movie theater is an independent movie theater, listed as an art-house, set only 500 meters from the famous Montparnasse tower. Enjoying seven screening rooms, the movie theater hosts many festivals all year around such as the Identités sans frontières. It is located at 98 Bd du Montparnasse
Thanks to Les Grands Voisins’ ambitious plan, the former Saint-Vincent-de-Paul hospital, which was located in a barren area between Port-Royal and Denfert-Rochereau, has been transformed into a vibrant live-work utopia. 2,000 individuals, including refugees, artists, and crafters, are already residing and working here, while the initiative is still in the early stages. This is located at 74 Avenue Denfert-Rochereau 14éme, La Ruche, which means the beehive in French, was the name of an artistic community that cropped up in Montparnasse in the early 19C. It was a cheap place to live, and as an artist, you were guaranteed to be surrounded by other artists and writers. The residence was (and still exists as a coworking and exhibition space) located in the Passage Dantzig in the 15éme arrondissement, Countless artists such as Guillaume Apollinaire, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, Robert Delaunay, and Diego Rivera called La Ruche home at one point. La Ruche may have been a place of desperation in the past, but after WWII, people like Jean-Paul Sartre and René Char worked together to bring the artistic haven out of the gutter. Today, exhibitions are open to the public, and it feels pretty special to be wandering around the former home of so many great icons. The open market or marché Edgar Guinet nearby offers delicious fresh produce and hot food , The hilly area Butte-aux-Cailles has a verdant village vibe, with cobbled streets, Art Deco buildings and old villas. A fast-gentrifying working class neighborhood, it’s an insider secret. Wander place Paul Verlaine, rue Daviel and villa Daviel. Cool off at Art Nouveau pool, the Piscine de la Butte aux Cailles. I had time to stay by the Jardin Atlantique on the roofstop of the Gare Montparnasse a place of heavenly thoughts with its beautiful basin of Miroitements and the ile des Hésperides island right on it so green and peaceful. The Jardin Atlantique or Atlantic Garden is in the Necker quartier or neighborhood of the 15éme arrondissement or district The site is accessible by the 1, Place des Cinq-Martyrs-du-Lycée-Buffon. Also by the Place Raoul Dauty or the Rue du Commandant René Mouchotte. The Metro Montparnasse-Bienvenue on lines lines 4, 6, 12, and 13 (stop Gaîté) , and the line 6 Pasteur as well as the bus lines 88, and 91 takes you here
A bit of history tell us that carriers, duelists or onlookers, many met in this place which then bore the name of “Mont de la Fronde”, because some trained there by stone throwing. It sometimes happened that students came to recite verses, not without a certain irony. Irony which will push some malicious to rename this mound in Mont Parnassus, in memory of the shelter of the muses of which the Greek mythology tells us. The premonition is all the more fun when you know the artistic profusion that will mark the history of the neighborhood. This name definitively adopted in 1773 when the rue du Montparnasse was pierced to make the junction between the rue Notre Dame des Champs and the Cour du Midi built under king Louis XIV. In time, the mound will be leveled. As for the famous Cour du Midi, it will be renamed a few years later to be transformed into Boulevard du Montparnasse. At the beginning of the 20C, many artists will migrate from Montmartre to Montparnasse, considered more central. The district will have many workshops and cities of painters, many of which will be sacrificed during the savage renovation of the district in the 60s / 70s.
The name of Montparnasse is used since the 17C on the old square of the Vaugirard neighborhood in the 14éme arrondissement and Notre-Dame-des-Champs neighborhood in the 6éme arrondissement 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 called cours du Midy since 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.
It is, also, my old working quartier and my entry point each time coming out from gare Montparnasse now. The restos around the Gare de Montparnasse are like my second home for many years. The Museum of General Leclerc/Musée de la Liberation – Musée Jean Moulin will take a new location. Located at the level of the Atlantic Garden, above the Gare Montparnasse, the establishment is difficult to reach and suffers from a lack of visibility ,a new establishment will be on the Boulevard Pasteur (between n ° 24 and 30) .Adjacent to a Jardin des Simples proposing the cultivation of aromatic plants and herbal teas by rue du doctor Roux, will complete this project.
The Paris tourist office on the Montparnasse quartier: https://parisjetaime.com/eng/transport/quartier-de-montparnasse-p1902
The city of Paris, entertainment site on what is on in Montparnasse : https://www.sortiraparis.com/arts-culture/balades/guides/162658-que-faire-quartier-montparnasse-idees-sorties-bons-plans-meilleures-adresses
The Paris tourist office on Montparnasse of the artists: https://parisjetaime.com/eng/article/the-montparnasse-of-artists-a1072
There you go folks, another day in Paris! Montparnasse became famous in the 1920’s and with many places of lecture and discussion sometimes in the same old places and sometimes in new places. Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is my memorabla Montparnasse in Paris !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 