My top tip for tourists visiting Paris is never go up the Eiffel Tower, but go up the Montparnasse Tower instead (it's taller, there is a lift to the top, there are no queues and best of all you can get the Eiffel Tower in your photos instead of the ugly old tower you are standing on!) It also affords a bird's eye view of Tennis Atlantique. Peering down from the top recently with a visiting friend I had a sudden hankering to play again on the courts in the garden above Montparnasse station. In many ways they are the least practical option for us now we live on the other side of Paris and they are quite a long walk from the Metro station, but I love the feeling of space you have on the roof and as it was Ascension Day it seemed appropriate to pick a high spot.
We weren't disappointed - the sun was shining, the wisteria was out and as a bonus the lovely man on reception let us have an extra hour when no one turned up to claim our court. It was perfect tennis weather - my skirt had its first airing this year and visors were essential for serving into the sun. There are five courts at Atlantique, but they are quite separate from one another - so no interruptions from stray balls - and lots of greenery overhanging the fences to provide some welcome shade. The concrete surface was slightly worn, but the net was in excellent condition. The SNCF chimes drifting up from the station platforms as the TGVs rumbled into and out of the station were strangely comforting, prompting thoughts of rail journeys across France and the promise of holidays yet to come.
The road at the back of the gardens offers a distant view of the Eiffel Tower and Paris's signature chestnuts in blossom. We decided to take a short detour through the famous Montparnasse cemetery (where I used to push the children in their prams as babies) to pay a visit to my favourite playwright - Samuel Beckett (I don't think he was a tennis player, but you can't have everything).
Tennis Atlantique
25 Allée du Capitaine Dronne
75015
Paris
