MONTPARNASSE - Paris
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Around 1920 writers and artists
of the avant-garde abandoned Montmartre and moved to
Montparnasse, shifting the core of Paris's artistic
and cultural life to the area around bd du Montparnasse.
Chagall, Modigliani, Miro, Kandinsky, Picasso, Stravinsky,
Hemingway, Henry Miller and Cocteau as well as political
exiles such as Lenin and Trotsky all hung out here at
various times. Montpamasse remained an artistic center
until the mid-1930s. Since the construction of the massive
new Gare Montparnasse as well as the addition of many
fashionable cafes, bars, restaurant sand cinemas.
However, the area remains picturesque because of its lively atmosphere
at night and of the monumental Montparnasse Tower, built in the
60s. It started as a redevelopment scheme of the Montparnasse
and Maine railway stations in 1958 and had strong support from
the new government. The tower itself was built between 1969 and
1973. During 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. The 58 floors
of the tower are mainly occupied by offices, while two floors
are open to the public for viewing the city; the 56th floor with
a restaurant, and the terrace on the top floor.
Its simple architecture, gigantic proportions and monolithic appearance
have been often criticised for being out of place in Paris urban
landscape and, as a result, two years after its completion the
construction of skyscrapers in the city centre was banned.
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Address
19, rue du Château d'Eau- 75010
Paris
Informations, hours, entrance fees
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Hotels near Montparnasse district
Hotel
de la Tour Maubourg Invalides - Hotel
de la Motte Picquet Eiffel Tower Paris -
Hotel
Belle Juliette St Germain Paris
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