Paris Pages

14th arrondissement

Le Dome, La Cupole, Le Select, La Rotonde

Le Dome is on the corner of Boulevard Montparnasse and Rue Delambre. Le Dome, La Coupole, a few doors down (red canopy), Le Select and La Rotonde (both in the 6th) were all haunts of painters and writers of the "Lost generation". Nowadays Le Dome is a good fish restaurant. La Coupole was started in 1927 by two waiters fired by Le Dome, and today is noisy, cavernous, and caters mainly for the tourist trade, though you will get a fairly decent meal there. Neither resemble the scruffy places they once were. By the way if you want to follow in the footsteps of the impoverished artists and authors then you sit inside, not on the terrace. The poor writers and artists could not afford to heat their studios, so came to the heated Dome to sit over their drinks. Many were too poor even to pay their bar bills, and left paintings instead. Simone de Beauvoir edited Jean-Paul Sartre's "Being and nothingness" at a table inside Le Dome, though it was said she preferred La Coupole for her Sunday lunch.

To continue this walk around the corner click here, and we'll walk up rue Delambre and up to the Cemetery to see their last resting place.

Place de Seoul

Right is Place de Seoul. A complete circle of buildings designed by Ricardo Bofil. This is one of the most stunning housing projects I have ever seen. I just hope the residents appreciate what they have got.

Jardin d'Atlantique

Place de Seoul is located just behind Montparnasse station, and on the roof of Montparnasse station is the Jardin d'Atlantique (below). It is called Jardin d'Atlantiqe because the plants on each side, though of the same type and often genus, are actually native of opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. On the left of the photograph the plants are all from the Americas, and those on the right from Europe. The undulations of grass are supposed to represent the waves of the ocean. The garden was opened in 1994, and rests 7 to 18 metres above ground on 12 huge concrete arches. There is a small cafe and this is the best place in all of Paris to come and learn how to rollerblade, as there is a track all around the park with a very comforting wall to hold on to when you lose your balance. And as there are so many others falling over you don't feel so silly.

The photograph above shows some ugly looking sticks. Well these are vines, and later in the year they will start to grow, flower and then the fruit will ripen and be used to make wine. Many of the arrondisements still have little vineyards hidden away.
On the right is the very impressive Post Office building as seen from the Jardin d'Atlantique.

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