Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Along with the seemingly ubiquitous apartment towers
built in the 1970s are hidden enclaves of the old, charming
Paris. Unassuming private homes sit next to faceless
apartment projects and longtime Parisians live side-by-side
with Asian immigrants—immigrants who descended on Paris
in the 1970s and who did not mind the apartment blocks
that had been built to replace old slums.
To the south of the enormous commercial Place d'Italie is
what makes the 13
e
so famous: its Asian population, which
lives in an area known as the Triangle de Choisy. Between the
avenue d'Ivry and avenue de Choisy, a dense international
community has sunk its roots, renovating older buildings
and enlivening the new blocks. Here are several large Asian
supermarkets, many small groceries and shops and dozens
of Asian restaurants, creating an atmosphere unlike any other
in Paris. Yet, even in this Asian stronghold, more traditional
surprises can be found: just a few streets west, by the placid,
unassuming Place de l'Abbé Henocque, are little streets of
private houses and gardens. And the Cité Floréale, to the
south, is a triangular, flowery nook just off Place de Rungis.
To the northwest is one of Paris' few remaining true
villages—la Butte aux Cailles—an intricate set of hilly streets
with old-world charm and small town flavour. Low, five-storey
houses, small shops and narrow streets characterise the
area. The small steep park, almost hidden on its northern
edge, is used by locals, as is the large market on boulevard
Auguste-Blanqui.
Montparnasse and Beyond (14
e
)
Legendary for the bohemian Montparnasse, the 14th
arrondissement
actually includes so much more that its
residents often consider it to be the best kept secret in
Paris. In fact, aside from busy Montparnasse, the hospital
complexes that dot the area and the broad avenues that cut
the
arrondissement
into a pie, the 14
e
has as many residential
attractions as any other area in the city.
Montparnasse sits at the northwest corner of the
arrondissement
and encompasses small edges of the 15
e
and
6
e
. It stretches east to the Observatoire built under Louis XIV
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