Montparnasse, Paris

The whole district is now dominated by the 209m/685ft high Tour Maine-Montparnasse at 33 Avenue du Maine. Designed by Beaudoin, Cassan, de Marien and Saubot, it was built between 1969 and 1972. From the panoramic restaurant on the 56th floor and the open terrace on the 59th there are extensive views over Paris reaching for up to 40km/25mi, fully comparable with those from the Eiffel Tower; there are telescopes to bring the views even closer. A 20-minute film show by Albert Lamorisse, "Paris jamais vu" ("Paris as you never saw it before") presents fascinating views of Paris from the air, and there are changing exhibitions on the history of the city.

Adjoining Maine-Montparnasse tower is the new Montparnasse Station (trains to western France), built in the early 70s. At the Pont des Cinq-Martyrs-du- Lycée-Buffon is the Gare de Vaugirard (opened 1991) from which the high-speed TGV trains run to the Atlantic coast. It is estimated that the two stations will in future handle some 60 million passengers a year. The railroad lines are roofed over and covered by the "Jardin de l'Atlantique", which forms a link between the Vaugirard and Plaisance districts.Since the 1960s the city has been carrying out beyond Montparnasse Station one of the largest and most radical redevelopment programs in Paris. The area between Rue Vercingétorix and Rue Commandant-René-Mouchette, once favored by artists such as the naive painter Henri Rousseau, had become increasingly dilapidated, until finally an almost complete clearance of an area of 80 hectares/200 acres was carried out. The functional concrete structures in a kind of neo-classical style, often with something of the appearance of stage- settings, which took the place of the old buildings continue to be the subject of controversy.

Housed on the grounds of the Pasteur Institute, known for its research in the field of medicine, is the manor house where Pasteur lived for the last six years of his life. It has been turned into a museum, with most of the house in its original manner. The science room contains many of the tools of Pasteur used as a chemist and in his study of medical science.The most notable attraction in the museum though is the chapel in which Pasteur is buried. It's design is borrowed from Galla Placidia, the Byzantine chapel of Ravenna. Mosaics depict various aspects of Pasteur's life and the sarcophagus in which Pasteur is buried is guarded by four white angels.

Montparnasse is Paris's third largest cemetery, opened in 1824. It contains the graves of Charles Baudelaire, Ossip Zadkine and Tristan Tzara (Avenue de l'Ouest), César Franck and Guy de Maupassant (Avenue du Boulevard), André Citroën (Avenue Thierry), Camille Saint-Saëns and Vincent d'Indy (Avenue du Nord) and the double grave of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir (section 20, to right of entrance.

This museum contains works by the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, a pupil of Rodin; periodic special exhibitions of modern sculpture.The most outstanding pieces in the museum are busts of Rodin, the writer Anatole France, and portraits of Beethoven.

The Musée Zadkine contains work by the Russian-French sculptor Ossip Zadkine, displayed in the garden, the house and the studio in which he worked from 1928 to his death.

This new building is designed by the architect, Jean Nouvel. The exhibitions present contemporary art by international and French artists.

These museums use modern technical such as audio-visual resources that lead in the footsteps of Moulin and Leclerc.

The museum displays the work by Roy Adzak. It is also an international meeting place. There will be some temporary exhibitions from different countries.

The Musée de la Poste in Paris contains the history of postal services and philately; library and phototheque.

This museum contains Philippe de Champaigne's paintings and the history of Port-Royal and Jansenism. This is the old building of Petites Ecoles.

The Paris Observatory has old and modern astronomy instruments. It operates as a research center in astronomy and astrophysics.

This apartment was where the Lenine family lived from July 1909 to June 1912.