Paris, Montparnasse

We came back from Paris yesterday.  Whenever we go there now we stay in the Montparnasse quarter near the Gare Montparnasse shown in the photo above.  We got in the habit of staying there because that's where our trains arrive from the Southwest, where we have lived for the last 30 years.  From time to time we have tried other parts of town, but they just don't have the same charm - at least not for us.

So, what's so great about Montparnasse?  We'd be embarrassed to find a short answer because there are no special tourist attractions, unless you count the Montparnasse Cemetery.  We spent most of a morning there the day before yesterday, and found it particularly beautiful with all the fresh flowers that had been placed on the graves over the All Saints' Day (Halloween) holiday, which is the time the French honor those who have gone before them.  We don't have any close relatives there, but we paid our respects to Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, as well as Guy de Maupassant, Charles Baudelaire, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Dreyfus, Serge Gainsbourg and others.  See my Picasa page for photos.

I suppose it's the convenience of the area which draws us back.  There's our favorite hotel, the Hotel des Bains, with air conditioned suites on an interior court at 105 Euros for two persons. It's on rue Delambre, which runs between boulevard Edgar Quinet and boulevard Montparnasse, just a short walk from the station.  

Transportation couldn't be better.  The airport bus stops right behind the Gare Montparnasse, and you have quick access to four metro lines.  Line 6 goes to the Etoile and the Champs Elysées, line 4 to the Latin Quarter and the Porte St. Martin theatres, line 12 to the Musée d'Orsay and Place de la Concorde, and line 13 to the Grand Palais and Montmartre.  We used all four lines on this trip because we were doing the museums.  We did have to change once to get to the Louvre.

And there is a concentration of good restaurants, most reasonably priced.  We like the Bistro du Dôme for fish at the end of rue Delambre (reserve your table), and Chez Clément, and La Coupole on the boulevard Montparnasse (reservations not necessary).  The latter is crowded and noisy, but the art deco interior alone is worth the price of a meal.  Across the boulevard is La Sieste for hearty cuisine bourgeoise, and the Hippopotamus, always reliable for a good steak (preferably rare).  The Hippo offers 30% off on main dishes on weekday mid-afternoons.  For light lunches, try Oh Poivrier or the Café Odessa where you can enjoy the bustling street market along boulevard Edgar Quinet. There are photos of most of these restaurants on my Picasa page.

The nearby cinemas have the latest French and American films (if your French is rusty, make sure the latter are in v.o. - version originale), and there is usually a  good play running at one of the theatres on the rue de la Gaité.

In short, Montparnasse is an ideal base of operations for your Paris stay. Enjoy!