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playwright Samuel Beckett, sculptor Constantin Brancusi, painter Chaim Soutine, photographer Man Ray, industrialist André Citroën, Captain Alfred Dreyfus of the infamous affair (Click here), actress Jean Seberg, philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and his lover, writer Simone de Beauvoir, and the crooner Serge Gainsbourg, whose grave in division No 1 just off av Transversale is a pilgrimage site for fans, who place metro tickets atop his tombstone, a reference to his famous song ‘Le Poinçonneur des Lilas’ (The Ticket Puncher of Lilas).

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LA POLLUTION CANINE: WATCH YOUR STEP

Every sixth person in France owns a dog, and Parisians are no exception. Problem is, that’s a lot of dog dirt – an estimated 150,000 pooches here produce some 16 tonnes of the stuff every day, a lot of which ends up on the streets. The Paris municipality has made some valiant attempts in the past, most notably with the introduction of the moto-crottes (motorised pooper-scooters) by then mayor Jacques Chirac in 1982. At one stage, the city was spending up to €11 million each year to keep the city’s pavements free of la pollution canine, but the machines were abandoned in 2004 as both expensive and ineffective. Plastic-bag dispensers with the words ‘J’aime mon chien, je ramasse’ (I love my dog, I pick up) have been placed strategically throughout the city, but the campaign has had less-than-howling success: only 60% of dog owners admit to doing their own scooping. Evidence to this effect takes the form of ‘souvenirs’ left by recently walked poodles and other breeds, often found smeared along the pavement (www.filthyfrance.com) by daydreaming strollers, one assumes – or guidebook writers absorbed in jotting down something important. And it gets more serious than that: more than 600 people are admitted to hospital each year after slipping on a crotte. Until Parisians – and their beloved canines – change their dirty ways, the word on the street remains the same: watch your step.

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FONDATION CARTIER POUR L’ART CONTEMPORAIN Map

01 42 18 56 50; www.fondation.cartier.fr; 261 blvd Raspail, 14e; adult/11-26yr/under 10yr €6.50/4.50/free; 11am-10pm Tue, to 8pm Mon & Wed-Sun; Raspail

This stunning contemporary building, designed by Jean Nouvel, is a work of art. It hosts temporary exhibits on contemporary art (from the 1980s till today) in a wide variety of media – from painting and photography to video and fashion.

GARE MONTPARNASSE Map

place Raoul Dautry, 14e; Montparnasse Bienvenüe

This sprawling train station, fronted by an ice-skating rink in winter, has several unusual attractions on its rooftop. The Jardin de l’Atlantique (Atlantic Garden; place des Cinq Martyr du Lycée Buffon, 15e), whose 3.5 hectares of landscaped terraces veil the top of the station, offers a bit of greenery and tranquillity in the heart of a very busy district. The futuristic Observatoire Météorologique ‘sculpture’ in the centre of the garden measures precipitation, temperature and wind speed.

Next to the garden the small Musée Jean Moulin ( 01 40 64 39 44; www.ml-leclerc-moulin.paris.fr, in French; 23 allée de la 2e DB, 15e; temporary exhibitions adult/14-25yr €4/2, permanent collections free; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun) is devoted to the WWII German occupation of Paris, with its focus on the Resistance and its leader, Jean Moulin (1899–1943). The attached Mémorial du Maréchal Leclerc de Hauteclocque et de la Libération de Paris shows a panoramic film on the eponymous general (1902–47), who led the Free French units during the war and helped to liberate the city in 1944.

To reach all these attractions, board the bubble lift on the pavement opposite 25 blvd de Vaugirard (15e) and ascend one floor. From there take the escalator and follow the signs to the garden and museums.

TOUR MONTPARNASSE Map

01 45 38 52 56; www.tourmontparnasse56.com; rue de l’Arrivée, 15e; adult/student & 16-20yr/7-15yr/under 7yr €9.50/6.80/4/free; 9.30am-11.30pm Apr-Sep, to 10.30pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat Oct-Mar; Montparnasse Bienvenüe

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MONTPARNASSE

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