Do you want to fully enjoy the nightlife of Montparnasse? Easy, you are spoiled for choice. From theatres to jazz club, passing through the nightclubs and the many museums and cinemas: there is no shortage of addresses.
Theatre
A word of advice, first go to the Kiosque Montparnasse (forecourt of the Montparnasse station), to buy at half price and for the same evening unsold seats in private and public theatres of Paris and its suburbs (it is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.).
Then, head towards rue de la Gaîté and its theatres with magnificent facades: Bobino (at n°20), the Théâtre de la Comédie Italienne (at n°17), the Théâtre de la Gaîté Montparnasse (at n°26), the Montparnasse Theatre (at n°31) or the Rive Gauche Theatre (at n°6).
Music
Maybe you prefer to listen to some music? No problem. For jazz, go to the Petit Journal Montparnasse (13 rue du Commandant Mouchotte), where you can fully enjoy swinging jazz, while dining or sipping a drink in the decor of an English pub. An institution.
For nightclubs, savvy night-clubbers choose without hesitation: l’Enfer (34, rue du Départ) for its frenzied evenings and Sunday morning after-parties (Thursday to Sunday, from 11 p.m. to dawn) and the Dancing de la Coupole where today some of the capital’s most popular electronic and salsa evenings take place. Also note in your diaries that Slam evenings (rhythmic poetry) are organized there regularly.
Finally, for accordion enthusiasts, know that there is one of the only specialized shops in the capital: Paris Accordéon (80, rue Daguerre, 14th). On the program: sale of new and second-hand instruments, workshop-restoration, musette lessons, meetings with artists and temporary exhibitions.
Museums
If you are keen on contemporary art, go to the Cartier Foundation (261, bd Raspail). There you can find the best in terms of current creation (paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc.). A piece of advice, don’t miss the “Nomadic Evenings”: the most cutting-edge artists (music, dance, theatre) meet there every Thursday evening.
Another place, another atmosphere with the Bourdelle Museum (16-18, rue Antoine Bourdelle). Here, during the “visit-walk” inside the house, the garden and the workshop of the famous sculptor, we come across more than 500 sublime works. Intimate atmosphere.
For stamp lovers or simply curious minds, go to the Postal Museum (34 bd de Vaugirard). There are all kinds: valuable, unusual, colorful or international. You’ll also find postmen’s uniforms, old mailboxes, the 15,000 volumes of the Library and the 150,000 images representing all the French postage stamps.
Finally, in the Atlantic Garden – located above the rail tracks of the station -, is the Memorial of Maréchal Leclerc and the Jean Moulin Museum, which retraces the journey of these two great men and hosts superb temporary exhibitions around the theme of World War II.
Cinema
Here are the main movie theatres in the area:
- Bienvenüe Montparnasse : 8, rue de l?Arrivée,
- Bretagne : 73, bd du Montparnasse
- Gaumont Parnasse : 3, rue d?Odessa
- L?Entrepôt : 7-9, rue Francis-de-Pressensé
- Les Montparnos : 16-18, rue d?Odessa
- Lucernaire : 53, rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs
- MK2 Parnasse : 11, rue Jules-Chaplain
- Miramar : 3, rue du Départ
- Sept Parnassiens : 98, bd du Montparnasse
- UGC Montparnasse : 83, bd du Montparnasse
- UGC Rotonde : 103, bd du Montparnasse
Picture: Céline Ylmz – Unsplash
