If you are considering where to find an apartment for rent in Paris, look no further than Montparnasse. While no longer the artistic and literary center of the city, it still has a reputation for delivering the sensation of being a lively mixture of art and high living. This was, after all, home to many of the world’s giants in art and literature. When you stay here, you can walk the same streets and sit in the same cafes that once catered to Picas, Hemingway, Cocteau Giacometti, Matisse, Modigliani and Braque.
A Walk through the Past
Although the 1950s and 1960s saw many over scaled developments in the area, including the now scenic viewing tower – Montparnasse Tour, a few remnants of the glory age of the area remains. This birthplace of Modernism, offering you the chance to view architecture spanning everything early Art Deco to brash contemporary, lets you catch a glimpse of the world of Pound, Hemingway, Man Ray and Dos Passos. Many of the cafes that once made this part of the city so attractive and even influenced their work remain. They still attract an international crowd of literary aficionados. With small theaters adding to the mix and various art galleries featuring the latest batch of artists as well as older favorites, it remains a lively in a less Bohemian fashion. This is particularly true on weekends.
You cannot find an apartment for rent in Paris that can offer you an identical experience. No matter how much it has changed, you can sense the history. For those who want to glory in the art and literature of the past, visit the Musée du Montparnasse. It was once a cafeteria for needy artists including Picasso and Léger. You also need to walk along the Boulevard du Montparnasse. Here, you can discover such marvels as La Coupole. Its Art Deco interior is sometimes more the attraction than what it serves. This street is also home to one of the area’s most famous cafés la Closerie des Lilas. Plaques indicate where Hemingway sat and wrote The Sun Also Rises. Others, who have sat, drank, eaten and formulated concepts for their work here include Apollinaire, Samuel Becket, Man Ray and Jean-Paul Sartre.
Staying in Montparnasse
Whether you are looking for an apartment for rent in Paris for a business trip or pleasure, you should consider staying in Montparnasse. The area is both historic and modern. It feeds the love of the past while combining it with the more contemporary. Admittedly, it is not to everyone’s taste. However, for those who seek a history in which international literary and artistic personalities featured, there is no place in Paris like Montparnasse.
