Just south of Montparnasse station, the gargantuan Ricardo Bofill housing development around place de Catalogne gives way to a walkway along the old rue Vercingétorix and to the changing but still cosy atmosphere, long lived in by artists, of Pernety. It's an appropriate location for the brand-new steel-and-glass Fondation Cartier-Bresson, Impasse Lebouis (Tues, Thurs & Fri 1–6.30pm, Wed 1–9pm, Sat 11am–6.45pm; €2; www.henricartierbresson.org; M° Gaîté), which exhibits photos, negatives, drawings and even films by the grand old photographer of Paris, as well as showcasing the work of younger photographers through temporary exhibitions. Over on rue Vercingétorix, the church of Notre-Dame du Travail was built at the end of the nineteenth century to cater for a congregation swollen by the men employed in building the Eiffel Tower and the surrounding exhibition palaces for the Exposition Universelle. The stone came from the Cloth Pavilion and the slender metal columns of the interior from the Palace of Industry.A short step to the south, wandering around Cité Bauer, rue des Thermopyles and rue Didot reveals adorable houses, secluded courtyards and quiet mews, and on the corner of rue du Moulin Vert and rue Hippolyte-Maindron you'll find Giacometti's old ramshackle studio and home. Cinema has one of its best Parisian venues at L'Entrepôt, 7–9 rue Francis-de-Pressensé, with spaces for talks, meals and drinks, and even a garden where they sometimes light incense in the trees on summer nights. South again, rue d'Alésia, the main east–west route through the 14e, has a small food market every Thursday and Sunday between the Plaisance métro and rue Didot, but is best known for its clothes shops, many selling discounted couturier creations. These congregate towards place Victor & Hélène Basch, where there's another delightful example of an old-style mews, the Villa d'Alésia. Just south of rue d'Alésia, at 3 rue Jonquoy, the Atelier Adzak (usually open Sat & Sun 3–7pm during exhibitions; ring in advance for information or to visit at other times tel 01.45.43.06.98; free; M° Plaisance) is a showcase for the work of British sculptor Roy Adzak, as well as a living and working space for artists from around the world. Adzak, who is best known for his comment "good art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us", built the studio with his own hands in the 1980s, along with the permanent sculpture garden, and there are frequent temporary exhibitions of painting, drawing and sculpture by associated artists. At the weekend it's worth heading out to the southern edge of the arrondissement for one of the city's best flea markets, known as the Puces de Vanves. Starting at daybreak, it spreads along the pavements of avenues Marc-Sangnier and Georges-Lafenestre, petering out at its western end in place de la Porte-de-Vanves, where the city fortifications used to run until the 1920s.
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