Simone de Beauvoir
Lived here · 1929
Beauvoir rented a room in her grandmother's building in July 1929, at twenty-one, to gain her independence, and studied here for the agrégation in philosophy — passing it that year, second to Sartre.
91 avenue Denfert-Rochereau
Still standing
Outside only
Someone else
The building where Simone de Beauvoir rented a room in her grandmother's flat in July 1929, at twenty-one, to get out from under her parents — and where she studied for the philosophy agrégation she passed that year.
- 91 avenue Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris
- Simone de Beauvoir moved here in July 1929
The place, briefly
In July 1929 Simone de Beauvoir moved out of her parents' flat and into a rented room in her grandmother's building at 91 avenue Denfert-Rochereau. She was twenty-one.
The city's own account is direct about what the move was for: independence. Renting from her grandmother meant she could come and go, work when she wanted, and not explain herself — which for a young woman of her class in 1929 was not a small arrangement to secure.
She studied here for the agrégation in philosophy, the competitive national examination, and passed it that same year. She placed second. The candidate who placed first was Jean-Paul Sartre, who was taking it for the second time. That examination is where the two of them begin.
The address also sits inside a much older Atlas thread: George Orwell was in the same quarter, and the Catacombs entrance is at the place Denfert-Rochereau at the top of the avenue.
The building is private and unmarked.
Key facts
- July 1929, when Beauvoir was twenty-one
- Her grandmother's — she rented a room to gain independence
- Studied for the philosophy agrégation, and passed it that year
- Second. Sartre placed first, taking it for the second time
- Private building, exterior only
Timeline
Beauvoir rents a room in her grandmother's building to gain her independence.
She passes the agrégation in philosophy, placing second to Sartre.
On the map
Questions before you go
Why did Beauvoir move to the avenue Denfert-Rochereau?
To get out from under her parents. In July 1929, aged twenty-one, she rented a room in her grandmother's building — an arrangement that let her come and go and work as she chose without having to explain herself, which was not easily available to a young woman of her background in 1929.
What happened here?
She studied for the agrégation in philosophy and passed it that year, placing second. The candidate who placed first was Jean-Paul Sartre, sitting it for the second time. Their partnership starts from that examination.
Writers who knew this place
Within walking distance
The Catacombs of Paris
The Catacombs are a municipal ossuary in a disused limestone quarry twenty metres under the 14th arrondissement, holding the remains of several million Parisians moved out of the city's overflowing graveyards from 1786 onward. The visit is a 1.5 km one-way walk, 131 steps down and 112 up, at a constant 14°C. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 9.45 a.m.–8.30 p.m., last admission 7.30 p.m.; full rate €31.
Visit the place11 bis rue Victor-Schœlcher
The first apartment Simone de Beauvoir could buy with her own money, after the Goncourt Prize of 1954. It became the gathering place for the Les Temps modernes circle, and it looks directly onto the Montparnasse cemetery where she is buried.
Visit the place
23 Rue Jean-Dolent
The Paris apartment where Blaise Cendrars and Raymone Duchâteau settled in 1950 after their marriage — his home for almost nine years, facing the rear wall of La Santé prison.
Visit the placeHôpital Cochin
The public hospital in the 14th arrondissement where George Orwell spent several weeks with pneumonia in 1929, in a ward of sixty beds. He wrote it up seventeen years later as "How the Poor Die" — one of the harshest things he ever published — and disguised the hospital as the Hôpital X in the fifteenth arrondissement.
Visit the placeThe Friday Letter
Paris, one address at a time.
The cafés, studios, and walk-up flats where the work was made — one story from the map in every letter.