Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Another park surrounded by a residential area is the
southeastern Parc Georges-Brassens, built on the site of a
former slaughterhouse. With grassy areas, a small lake and a
carousel for children, this bucolic park breaks the monotony
created by the modern apartment blocks that tower over
older buildings. Nearby, however, in Passage de Dantzig is La
Ruche, the famous beehive building of artists' studios used
by Chagall, Modigliani, Soutine and Léger, among others of
Montparnasse fame; studios are still available today.
Montparnasse, whose northeastern corner abuts on the
14
e
, is perhaps the 15
e
at its most interesting. Despite the
district's commercial nature and the domination by the
Tour Montparnasse, the streets off rue de Vaugirard and
rue Pasteur are residential, with proximity to a market,
supermarkets and the Maine-Montparnasse shopping
complex. Hidden above the railroad station is the Jardin
Atlantique, a landscaped roof garden with fountains, play
areas and tennis courts. Close by are the large Hôpital
Necker and the famous Institut Pasteur, around which are
agreeable little residential nuggets, which benefit from their
proximity to the elegant 7
e
, with its oases such as Place de
Breteuil and the elegant market at avenue de Saxe.
Sixteenth Arrondissement (16
e
)
The most aristocratic of Paris'
arrondissements
, this large
area at the western edge of the city was among the last to
be incorporated into the city system. Its two main
quartiers
,
Auteuil and Passy, were formerly small villages set amidst
farmland and a forest stretching west, which were the
hunting grounds of the French kings. Underground mineral
springs turned the area into an aristocratic spa in the 17th
century, and it was to this area of rural elegance that the
nobility retreated during the Revolution.
Today the 16th
arrondissement
still enjoys a small town
atmosphere. Just past the western edge is the Bois de
Boulogne—what is left of the royal woods. Some Parisians
claim the 16
e
is boring, for there is little nightlife, and in
the summer, many of its residents close their homes and
depart, returning only at
la rentrée
(return to work and school
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