The re-development of this neighborhood was envisioned as early as 1980 and a key element of this effort was the construction of a new National Library. Eventually named in honor of Francois Mitterrand, the structure opened some ten years later along the banks of the Seine on grounds once occupied by factories and warehouses. The new National Library of France, or Bibliotheque Francois Mitterrand, stretches the entire length of the newly created Avenue de France which ends at the Austerlitz train station. Just in front of the station is the Jardin des Plantes. Louis XIII created the garden in 1633 as an instructing ground for medical doctors and in 1640 it became the first garden in Paris open to the public. After the French Revolution in 1793, the site would become home to the National Museum of Natural History.
The library’s esplanade made of exotic woods is an ideal vantage point to discover the building’s interesting architecture. Four immense towers are joined at the ground level by an interior garden. The towers are meant to represent four open books. Other neighborhood points of interest include the National Museum of Natural History and its famous Gallery of Evolution. Also nearby is the Mosque of Paris inspired by the mosques of Fez and built between 1922 and 1926.
La Mosquée de Paris for its sauna and tea salon and le Batofar, a former fire patrol boat which is now a well-known venue for fans of electronic music.
