In the vibrant 14th arrondissement of Paris, Montparnasse Cemetery unfurls its quiet alleys, offering a veritable journey through France's intellectual and artistic history. A veritable open-air museum, it contains the graves of many of France's leading literary, philosophical, cinematographic and artistic figures.
Created in 1824, during the Restoration period, the Montparnasse cemetery quickly became the final resting place for many of the thinkers and creators associated with the Left Bank's cultural effervescence. As you stroll along its long, tree-lined avenues, you'll come face to face with the graves of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Serge Gainsbourg and Charles Baudelaire.
A little tour of the Montparnasse Cemetery
The Montparnasse cemetery is the final resting place of many famous personalities, and a stroll through it is a free and instructive pleasure. [Read more]
If you'd like to walk in the footsteps of your favorite writers, or meditate before the graves of brilliant minds who have made Paris shine around the world, the Montparnasse cemetery is a place to visit. Artists, writers, musicians, many personalities who have marked their eras rest here. Join us as we take a look at a selection of celebrities buried in the Montparnasse cemetery.
Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867): Major French poet of the XIXᵉ century, author of Les Fleurs du Mal, an emblematic work of Symbolism.
Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967): Russian-born French sculptor and Cubist, known for his expressive works in wood and stone.
Zizi Jeanmaire (1924-2020): French dancer, singer and showgirl, icon of music-hall and ballet.
Jean Seberg (1938-1979): American actress, muse of the Nouvelle Vague, famous for her role in Breathless.
Robert Desnos (1900-1945): French surrealist poet, Resistance fighter, died in deportation.
Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991): French singer-songwriter and icon of French chanson, best known for Je t'aime... moi non plus.
Juliette Gréco (1927-2020): French singer and actress, muse of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, interpreter of poetic and political songs.
Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893): French writer, master of the realistic short story, author of Boule de Suif.
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980): French existentialist philosopher, writer and playwright, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964 (refused).
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986): French philosopher, novelist and feminist, author of Le Deuxième Sexe.
Marguerite Duras (1914-1996): French writer, playwright and director, best known for L'Amant and Hiroshima mon amour.
Sonia Rykiel (1930-2016): French fashion designer, nicknamed "the queen of knitwear", founder of the eponymous house.
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Location
Montparnasse Cemetery
3, boulevard Edgar Quinet
75014 Paris 14
A little tour of the Montparnasse Cemetery
