Cheap land's legacy, now "hometown Paris"

The usefulness of land on the city's fringe

: Pasteur's home and museum

"Too far, too far!" groaned Pasteur...yet he settled south of the Montparnasse station on the city's fringe, because only in that ragmen's zone was land for his Institute affordable. The area also attracted art-history's "Beehive", a huge bookfair and a flea market. A brilliantly-designed park replaces the slaughterhouse...

: "The Beehive"

The neighborhood is a "hometown Paris", where open-air markets are cheap and cheerful, bistros excellent and we can even watch bread being made. Visits are best on weekend mornings, when the markets are in full swing. We can recommend a hotel...