A Walking Tour Paris

Named after the mountain sacred to the Greek god Apollo – god of
poetry, music and beauty – Mount Parnassus was also the abode of the
muses, which makes it a particularly appropriate name for this part of
the city. Home to some of the 19th and 20th centuries’ most important
artistic creators, Montparnasse was where Picasso and Modigliani had
their studios, as well as Bourdelle and Zadkine, names somewhat less
known now but who were famous in their day. The lower rents of this
unfashionable part of the city attracted struggling young artists and
writers. Cocteau, Giacometti, Hemingway, Matisse and Modigliani could all
be seen in the bars and cafés of Montparnasse in the first decades of the
20th century. The area is also famous for its cemetery, and its catacombs
and of course the Tour Montparnasse, the tallest building in France.