How to go up the Montmartre Hill if funicular out of order ?

How to go up the Montmartre Hill  when the funicular is out of order can become a challenge for tourists and inhabitants of the district. This happens very rarely and there are 3 solutions that avoid that the top of Montmartre is isolated from the rest of the world! For information, except for normal maintenance, the funicular was interrupted between 1932 and 1935 and also between late 2006 and June 2007.

Going up the Montmartre Hill by the stairs to the Sacré-Coeur : a sportive climb

The main and direct staircase is the one along the funicular. The entrance of the stairs is at 1 Place Valadon (which is in fact a street, not a square). It is located at the junction between the street Tardieu and the street Saint Pierre (called "Place Saint Pierre"!?).
The "Place Valadon" turns into a staircase 30 m further on, which is called "rue Foyatier"! Who knows why "rue" instead of "escalier" ? This staircase which goes along the funicular (the "Foyatier street") has two hundred and twenty two steps. It leads to the upper station of the funicular at the junction of rue Saint Eleuthère and rue du Cardinal Dubois - which you cross to reach the stairs in front of you that you climb to rue Azaïs that you take on the right. The Parvis and the Basilica du Sacré-Coeur  are 50 m away. If during your ascent you did not take the time to admire the panorama it is now of the Parvis that you have the best sight on Paris.

The 38 stairs of the Montmartre Hill

It is also possible to go up to the Sacré-Coeur by several stairs located in the Square Louise Michel, on the right of the funicular.

There are also many other staircases to go up the Butte Montmartre or down it from the north or west sides. It seems that there are 38 stairs. You will certainly have the opportunity to take some.
We have listed some of them below:

• Staircase Paul Albert, "Littérateur"
• Stairs of the street Utrillo
• Passage Cottin
• Staircase of the rue du Chevalier de la Barre : It leads to the garden of Turlure, close to the Sacré-Cœur. You have to come at night to look at its cobblestones that turn into a starry sky. It is Alekan, chief operator and the sculptor Patrick Rimoux, who reproduced with optical fibers, the constellations of January 1st and July 1st.
• Going down rue Lamarck, you come across the stairs of rue Becquerel.
• On the other side of rue Lamarck, a pétanque court that is always frequented and another staircase, rue de la Bonne: there was one of the fountains of Montmartre whose water was famous.
• A little further down, the stairs of the rue du Mont-Cenis. One of the longest of the Butte. It is more oriented to the north than to the east

It is these stairs that make Montmartre "feel" like a hill and that you need to have strong legs to "navigate" on the Butte. Indeed no private vehicles are allowed, except for light service vehicles (deliveries). However, some poets have sung about them ("They are hard on the wretched...")!

The small trains of the Butte Montmartre to go up the Butte Montmartre

Note that there are 2 competing small trains to climb the Butte Montmartre: Le "Petit train Montmartrain" and "Le Petit train de Montmartre". Both make a detour in the "lower Montmartre" and have a stop in Pigalle, Moulin Rouge and Place Blanche.

The Little Train "Montmartrain" (Le petit train Montmartrain)

• Address: 1 Parvis. du Sacré-Cœur, 75018 Paris
• Map: Parvis du Sacré-Coeur, 75018, Paris Phone : +33 6 85 21 95 23
• Times: Departure at 10am or 11am depending on the season. The departure of the tour is on the Parvis du Sacré-Coeur.

Between Pigalle and the Sacré-Coeur, you will walk through places full of history: from the Place du Tertre to the Lapin Agile cabaret or from Aristide Bruant's house to Dalida's. Stops in particular in front of the Moulin Rouge and the Pigalle metro station. This pleasant train trip will make you discover in a new way these streets that were once walked by Picasso, Utrillo or Modigliani.

Visit of the Montmartre district in 30 minutes. During the tour, you will have the opportunity to see :

• The Saint-Pierre church
• The Moulin Rouge
• The cemetery of Montmartre
• The Pigalle station
• The vineyard of Montmartre
• The cabaret "Au Lapin Agile

• Price: 4,50€ for children and 8€ for adults. 
• From November 17, 2021, come to attend the first ascent of the Butte Montmartre in electric train."
• Payments by check or cash directly on site at 1 Parvis du Sacré-Coeur.
• For online payments, you will receive a digital ticket recapitulating your order on your e-mail.
  • adult 8 €
  • child (3 years old): 4,50 €
  • If you do not receive your digital ticket, simply show a proof of order before you get on the train.

The Little Train of Montmartre (Le Petit train de Montmartre)

• Address: 177 Avenue Charles de Gaulle, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine
• Tel: +33 142622400 contact@promotrain.fr
• The "Petit Train de Montmartre" offers a musical tour in 2 languages (French - English), in the heart of the Butte Montmartre with a stop at Place du Tertre and a departure in front of the Moulin Rouge.
• The tour of the small train to go up the Butte Montmartre is divided into two parts (one ticket) that can be done at two times of the day: - Place Blanche (departure at the bottom of the Butte, near the Moulin Rouge - metro Blanche line 2) to Place du Tertre (duration of the trip: 15 minutes) - Place du Tertre to the top of the Butte Montmartre (2nd point of departure) and back to Place Blanche (duration of the trip: 30 minutes)
• The circuit: Place Blanche / Moulin Rouge / Sacré-Coeur Basilica / Amphitheater / Arena / Saint Peter's Church / Place du Tertre / Espace Dalí / Montmartre Museum / The Nimble Rabbit (Le Lapin Agile) / Saint Vincent Cemetery / Place Constantin Pecqueur / Saint Peter's Market (Saint Pierre Market)/ Anvers/ Return to Place Blanche

Services

• An ideal formula to discover the Montmartre district with children. Children love this visit on board a little train.
• The visit is commented in French and English.
• 2 places of departure: Place Blanche (Metro Blanche line 2, at the bottom of the hill) and Place du Tertre (at the top of the hill, near the Sacré Coeur). Departure point of your choice.
• Tip: do the tour in 2 times with unlimited stop at the intermediate stop to visit Montmartre. You can start the tour at the departure point of your choice, stay as long as you wish and take the little train of Montmartre in the other direction for the return trip later in the day.

Opening hours :

• Visiting hours: every day from 10 am to 6 pm. Nocturne in summer until midnight. December to April: varies according to dates and school vacations.
• Price : Adult (over 12 years old): 8 €. Children (2 to 12 years old): 4,50 €.
• HEALTH MEASURES: - Wearing a mask is mandatory - Hydro-alcoholic gel is available

The RATP bus, line n° 40 (Mairie du 18e - Jules Joffrin to Le Peletier stops)

This is the only RATP bus line to go up the Montmartre Hill and travel on the Butte Montmartre. It is a bus reduced in length to take the narrow streets of the Butte. It is a circular bus and has no end: the starting point is the Pelletier station located at the bottom of the Butte, on the south side (Pigalle) and the northernmost stop is the Mairie du 18e - Jules Joffrin metro station. The Bus 40 returns to its starting point after a 4 km ride that takes it to the other side of the Butte, on the north side, through the streets at the top of the Butte, after 35 intermediate stops and in 25 to 35 minutes.

The itinerary to climb the Butte Montmartre overlaps in some points with the return itinerary, which adds to the confusion and does not facilitate the comprehension of the route in its median part. You will find opposite the map of the line 40, the stops, the connections with the metro or other buses and the direction of passage of the bus at each stop (arrow).

The bus of the line 40 operates from Monday to Saturday from 7:30 am (time at the point of departure of the line) to 1:10 am approximately and Sundays and holidays from 7:20 am. Its frequency is :

• A bus every 10 to 30 minutes on weekdays (10 to 15 minutes during the day)
• One bus every 11 to 25 minutes on Saturdays
• One bus every 12 to 25 minutes on Sundays

Stops and connections of the RATP bus 40