Finally, after five months in Paris, staying in the small hotel on Rue de l’Université and in Ludmilla Bloch-Savitsky’s servants’ quarters, Joyce signed a five-month lease for an apartment at 5 Boulevard Raspail in the 7th arrondissement.
The luxurious apartment was in the Montparnasse district, halfway between two gardens: the Tuileries Garden across the River Seine and the Jardin du Luxembourg on the Left Bank.
James Joyce loved the apartment and the area, being close to the cafe les Deux Magots and the cafe de Flore. He had the Rue de Bac Metro on his doorstep, and he was close to the shopping street of Rue de Rennes with Le Bon Marché nearby, and the restaurants along the Boulevard du Montparnasse.
He was also a regular visitor at Sylvia Beach’s bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, at 8 Rue Dupuytrens.
James Joyce stayed here for five months from 1 December 1920 to 31 May 1921 until the lease expired.
James Joyce Paris Residence: Number 3 out of 18.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls