MONTPARNASSE
Montparnasse Tower |
In the early 20th century, Montparnasse became a center for avant-garde
artists such as Modigliani and Chagall. Political exiles like Lenin
and Trotsky talked about strategies over cognac in the cafés
in Montparnasse area. After the second World War, this area
Montparnasse Tower |
attracted Americans and artistic rebels like Hemingway and Miller.
The Spanish Civil War and the II World War, however, ended this
bohemian golden age. The witness of the end of this era is the tower
built between 1969 and 1973: the Tour Montparnasse. During its construction,
the tower was very popular as it became a symbol of the new modern
Paris. This changed however when the 210 meters tall Tour Montparnasse
was completed. Public opinion turned against the tower mainly because
it intruded the skyline. |
CATACOMBS
At the intersection of six avenues, a lion sculpted by Bartholdi
and commemorating la Defense Nationale de 1870-1871 dominates place
Denfert-Rochereau. Most visitors observe Bartholdi's Leo from their
place in line to visit the Catacombs, a series of tunnels 20 m below
ground and 1,7 km in length. They were originally excavated to provide
stone for building the city. By the 1770s, much of the Left Bank
was in danger of caving in and digging promptly stopped. The former
quarry was then used as a mass grave to relieve the stench emanating
from Paris's overcrowded cemeteries. The entrance warns "Stop!
Beyond Here is the Empire of the death". In 1793, a Parisian
got lost and became a permanent resident, so stick the tour. During
WWII, the Empire of Death was full of life when the Resistance set
up headquarters among the departed. The catacombs are like an underground
city , with streets names on the walls lined with femurs and craniums.
Beware the low ceilings and bring a sweater (and a flashlight if
you have one). The catacombs are not recommended for the faint of
heart or leg: There are 85 steeps steps to climb on their way out. |
CIMETIÈRE DE MONTPARNASSE
The Montparnasse Cemetery is the final resting place of many of
France's great intellectuals, although it also contains the graves
of many celebrated foreigners. While not as large or popular as
Père-Lachaise on the eastern side of Paris, a stroll through
the tree-lined alleys of the cimetière du Montparnasse is
a pleasant and historic excursion in Paris's highly modern Montparnasse
quarter. Charles Baudelaire, Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul
Sartre, Man Ray, Simone de Beauvoir and many other celebrities are
buried here. |
PARC MONTSOURIS
With his 16 hectares of surface, the Parc Montsouris, if not the
biggest of the capital, doesn't lack of originality. Laid out between
1867 and 1871, it shelters today notably a climatic Observatory,
a one hectare lake , the old Sighting of the Paris observatory of
1806 and one reconstitution of the Palais Bardo, summer Palace of
the Tunis bey , built by the baron Jules de Lesseps for the world
fair of 1867. The Park Montsouris is mostly frequented by joggers,
students from the Cité Universitaire, and family's mothers
who appreciate its greenery, its lawns and the children's safety.
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