Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [92]
MUSÉE DE LA POSTE Map
01 42 79 24 24; www.museedelaposte.fr in French; 34 blvd de Vaugirard, 15e; permanent collection adult/under 18yr €5/free, temporary exhibition adult/13-18yr/under 13yr €6.50/5/free; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat; Montparnasse Bienvenüe or Pasteur
Think travel and exploration, not stamps, when it comes to the inspired temporary exhibitions hosted at the Postal Museum. The main collection – the history of the French postal service – is spread across several rooms on several floors and is equally impressive. Upon departure, don’t miss the shop selling every imaginable French stamp, from Harry Potter designs to romantic red heart-shaped stamps.
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TRANSPORT: 15E ARRONDISSEMENT
Bus Blvd de Grenelle for 80 to Alma-Marceau, av Montaigne, av Matignon, Gare St-Lazare, Place Clichy & Lamarck Caulaincourt; rue de Vaugirard for 89 to Jardin du Luxembourg, Panthéon, Jardin des Plantes, Gare d’Austerliz & Bibliothèque Nationale de France François Mitterrand
Metro Commerce, Convention, Duroc, La Motte-Picquet Grenelle, Vaugirard
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MUSÉE DU MONTPARNASSE Map
01 42 22 91 96; www.museedumontparnasse.net; 21 av du Maine, 15e; adult/12-18yr/under 12yr €6/5/free; 12.30-7pm Tue-Sun; Montparnasse Bienvenüe
Housed in the studio of Russian cubist artist Marie Vassilieff (1884–1957) down a surprisingly leafy alleyway off av du Maine, Montparnasse Museum doesn’t have a permanent collection; rather it recalls the great role Montparnasse played during various artistic periods of the 20th century, offered through temporary exhibitions.
MUSÉE PASTEUR Map
01 45 68 82 83; www.pasteur.fr; Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 15e; adult/student €3/1.50; 2-5.30pm Mon-Fri Sep-Jul; Pasteur
Housed in the apartment where the famous chemist and bacteriologist spent the last seven years of his life (1888–95), a tour of this museum takes you through Pasteur’s private rooms, a hall with such odds and ends as gifts presented to him by heads of state and drawings he did as a young man. After Pasteur’s death, the French government wanted to entomb his remains in the Panthéon, but his family, acting in accordance with his wishes, obtained permission to have him buried at his institute. The great savant lies in the basement crypt.
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MONTMARTRE & PIGALLE
Drinking; Eating; Shopping; Sleeping
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the bohemian lifestyle of Montmartre in the 18e attracted a number of important writers and artists. Although the activity shifted to Montparnasse after WWI, the 18e arrondissement thrives on crowds and a strong sense of community. When you’ve got the Butte de Montmartre (Montmartre Hill) and Sacré Cœur, what do you expect? Cascading steps, cobblestone streets, small houses with wooden shutters in narrow, quiet lanes; the charm of the quartier is immediately apparent. Rue Caulaincourt and av Junot flaunt their bourgeois credentials, while the streets around the square Willette, place des Abbesses and rue Lepic become steeper and narrower, the inhabitants younger and hipper.
The northern part of the 9e arrondissement has a rough-and-ready charm. The lights of the Moulin Rouge dominate blvd de Clichy, and a few blocks southeast is lively, neon-lit place Pigalle, one of Paris’ main sex districts. But Pigalle is more than just a sleazy red-light district: the area around blvd de Clichy between Pigalle and Blanche metro stations may be lined with erotica shops and striptease parlours, but there are also plenty of trendy nightspots, clubs and cabarets. South of Pigalle, the district known as Nouvelles Athènes (New Athens), with its beautiful Graeco-Roman architecture and private gardens, has long been favoured by artists.
BASILIQUE DU SACRÉ CŒUR Map
01 53 41 89 00; www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com; place du Parvis du Sacré Cœur, 18e; 6am-10.30pm; Anvers
Sacred Heart Basilica, perched at the very top of Butte de