Paris by the Numbers 13th and 14th

My Paris by the Numbers series continues this week with the 13th and 14th arrondissements. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, there are 20 arrondissements in Paris and I’m covering each and every one over the next few months. The landmarks I have chosen in each neighborhood are the ones that appealed to us, so this won’t be an inclusive list of sites for each neighborhood. If you’re interested, click here to view previous posts in this series.

The 13th arrondissement of Paris is located on the left bank of the River Seine and was once an industrial area. It is known as the Quartier Asiatique, due to the large influx of Vietnamese refugees who immigrated here in the 1970s. Soon immigrants from other Asian countries also arrived in the area, thus the destinction. It is also sometimes referred to as the Gobelin District as the famous tapestries and wall hangings are made here. It was annexed by Paris in 1860 and has been transformed into a lovely neighborhood with tree-lined streets and quiet squares.

We found the street art in this area to be most appealing. In the 1960s local artists began painting murals on the buildings in an attempt to beautify this industrial area.

Eventually, the artists received the support of local art galleries and town officials, thus the mural making continues today; they are ubiquitous.

Also situated on the left bank of the River Seine is the 14th arrondissement, known as Montparnasse. We traveled through this neighborhood often since the terminus of the train we took from Normandie to Paris was at Gare Montparnasse.

We have enjoyed some good meals here, one in particular was with our French friends, Pascal and Florence, in early 2023.

You may recall the massive strikes at that time due to Emmanuel Marcon’s highly unpopular pension bill, resulting in, among other things, piles of garbage in the streets of some neighborhoods, but not all. Montparnasse was one that was hardest hit. It was quite unappetizing strolling through the neighborhood after lunch.

Pascal shared this meme with us from Facebook, showing an alternative event for the summer 2024 Olympic Games.

We spent a few nights in the beautiful Hotel Lennox here in August, 2022. It’s a lovely hotel offering comfortable rooms, a delicious breakfast and friendly, helpful service.

There had been a heat wave during our stay, and later a thunder and lightening storm which we witnessed from our hotel window.

And as always, strolling through the neighborhood is always a treat.

The famous Catacombs are located here, and are said to be the largest underground ossuary in the world. The history of the Catacombs is quite gruesome and involves vacant mines, sinkholes and open graves, which I won’t expand on, but click here if you’re interested in learning more.

This is a very popular attraction and books up quickly, so I was almost relieved when we couldn’t get tickets, as it looks a little creepy.

So this wraps up two more arrondissements; what do you think of them? Paris is always wonderful regardless of the neighborhood one visits, but we found the outer arrondissements to be very appealing with much to offer and fewer crowds.

As always, I would love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a message if you’re so inclined.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia