Montparnasse. Montparnasse is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail.
The Pasteur Institute is located in the area. Beneath the ground are tunnels of the Catacombs of Paris.
Students in the 17th century who came to recite poetry in the hilly neighbourhood nicknamed it after Mount Parnassus, home to the nine Muses of arts and sciences in Greek mythology. The hill was levelled to construct the Boulevard Montparnasse in the 18th century.
During the French Revolution many dance halls and cabarets opened their doors. The area is also known for cafés and bars, such as the Breton restaurants specialising in crêpes located a few blocks from the Gare Montparnasse.
In the 18th century, students recited poems at the foot of an artificial hillock of rock rubble from the catacombs, a near-by network of underground galleries. Ironically, they decided to baptise this mound Mount Parnassus, named after the one celebrated by Greek poets. In the early 20th century, many Bretons driven out of their region by poverty arrived by train at Montparnasse station, the heart of the district, and settled nearby. Montparnasse became famous in the 1920s, referred to as les Années Folles, and the 1930s as the heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris.
The Pasteur Institute is located in the area. Beneath the ground are tunnels of the Catacombs of Paris.
Students in the 17th century who came to recite poetry in the hilly neighbourhood nicknamed it after Mount Parnassus, home to the nine Muses of arts and sciences in Greek mythology. The hill was levelled to construct the Boulevard Montparnasse in the 18th century.
During the French Revolution many dance halls and cabarets opened their doors. The area is also known for cafés and bars, such as the Breton restaurants specialising in crêpes located a few blocks from the Gare Montparnasse.
In the 18th century, students recited poems at the foot of an artificial hillock of rock rubble from the catacombs, a near-by network of underground galleries. Ironically, they decided to baptise this mound Mount Parnassus, named after the one celebrated by Greek poets. In the early 20th century, many Bretons driven out of their region by poverty arrived by train at Montparnasse station, the heart of the district, and settled nearby. Montparnasse became famous in the 1920s, referred to as les Années Folles, and the 1930s as the heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris.
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