Montmartre hill self-guided stroll on the top of Paris

Parvis du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre
Basilique du Sacré-Coeur
Quartier de Clignancourt
75018 Paris (France)

Access

• funiculaire
• à pied
• Petit Train de Montmartre
• Bus n°40

Short description

We chose the Parvis du Sacré-Coeur as the starting point of this walk for the view on Paris – south side. But it is also where all the means available to go up to the Butte Montmartre meet:

• the funicular, most often used and which arrives at the “high station”.
• the stairs that lead from the “Bas Montmartre” – for the sportsmen
• the “Petit Train de Montmartre” for children … but also for adults
• the RATP bus n°40 of the city of Paris
• the public toilets available at 50 m from the Parvis, on the east side, on the right when you look at the Sacré-Coeur entrance

Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre
Sommet de la butte Montmartre
Quartier de Clignancourt
75018 Paris (France)

Main entrance: Parvis de la Basilique
75018, Paris (Open from 6 am to 10:30 pm)

Entrance for the Reception of the Nights of Adoration and the EPHREM Reception House: at the back of La Basilique,  35, rue du Chevalier-de-la-Barre, 75018 PARIS

Access

• Métro – Line   – Station Anvers
• Bus – 31, 54, 80, 85, 40
• Funicular
• Offer adapted to people with disabilities
• Information on accessibility
  Motor disabilities: a ramp and an elevator are located at 35, rue du Chevalier de la Barre, at the back of the Basilica. Regular opening hours: 9:30 am – 5:30 pm.

Short description

The Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur was born after a vow.

This personal vow was made by the philanthropist Alexandre Legentil in January 1871, to atone for the “misfortunes that desolate France and perhaps greater misfortunes that still threaten it”.

The aftermath of the 1870 war.

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870, sometimes called the Franco-Prussian War or the War of 1870, lost by the French led to an new elected Assembly, to replace Napoleon III. This assembly had a monarchist majority, along with certain measures implemented by the Assembly or the government, reinforced a climate of unrest within the Parisian National Guard and popular circles. An insurrection broke out in Montmartre on March 18, 1871, and set up an insurrectional authority: the Paris Commune.

The personality of Alexandre Legentil

Alexandre Legentil’s strong personality in the Parisian Catholic landscape and his many connections, began the steps that were to lead to the realization of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur several decades later.

Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur and Commune de Paris

Therefore the Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur construction is frequently associated with the events of the Paris Commune. It is said to have been built to “atone for the crimes” of the Commune of May 1871.

The committee of the “Œuvre du Vœu National”

It decided that the choice of the architect would be made by competition. Certain elements were imposed: the site (Montmartre), a budget limited to seven million francs, a crypt, and a monumental statue of the Sacred Heart that was highly visible and placed outside.

The Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur is mainly financed by a large number of French people through a national subscription.

More than half a century to be completed

It took more than half a century to complete the basilica as it is today, with multiple problèmes : foundation, political disagreements and even until after the Second World War, whose bombardments destroyed the stained glass windows.
In total, the program cost six times more than expected.

The building specifications

The basilica is not built according to the traditional basilica plan. It is in the shape of a Greek cross, decorated with four domes. The central dome has a keystone height of 54.94 m and a diameter of 16 meters. Its central dome, 83 m high, was the highest point in Paris before the construction of the Eiffel Tower, which is the Republican counterpart of the basilica. It is surmounted by a skylight formed by a colonnade. A spiral staircase of 237 steps leads to the inner and outer gallery of this dome, the first offering a view of the interior of the church and the second a circular panorama over 30 km on a clear day. Unlike most churches that traditionally have an East-West orientation, the basilica’s orientation is North-South.
The crypt, which has the same layout as the church, is one of the curiosities of the basilica.

The uninterrupted prayers 24 hours a day since 1885

Since 1885, the faithful – men, women, and children from all walks of life – have been taking turns 24 hours a day to recite a prayer uninterrupted, day and night. This prayer is the mission that the Basilica received at its consecration: a mission of constant intercession for the Church and the world.

Statue du Chevalier-de-la-Barre
Square Nadar
Rue Saint-Eleuthère
Paris, 75018, France

Access

• The Square Nadar where Statue of Chevalier-de-la-Barre is located, is on the Butte Montmartre, almost at the exit of the upper funicular station, west of the Parvis du Sacre-Coeur

Short description

The Chevalier-de-la-Barre was beheaded at the age of twenty-one and his body thrown at the stake. Why such a severe punishment? The Chevalier-de-la-Barre was condemned to death by the judges of the presidial of the city of Abbeville for not having removed his hat nor having knelt at the passage of a procession, for having sung songs of the guard corps and for holding Voltaire‘s Philosophical Dictionary. It was on July 1, 1766.

Today, the name, the monument in Abbevillois and the statue in Paris of this “victim of religious intolerance” remain rallying points for free-thinking militants. Associations exist bearing the name of the Chevalier de La Barre: in Paris and in Abbeville.

Place Jean Marais
75018 Paris

Access

On Montmartre Hill, in front of Saint Pierre Church

Short description

Place Jean-Marais is a square in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, 30 m by 15 m which serves the streets of Mont-Canis, Norvins and Saint-Rustique.

It is located in front of the square of the Saint-Pierre de Montmartre church, near the Place du Tertre, at the top of the Montmartre hill.

It is named after the French actor Jean Marais (1913-1998), who was also a sculptor. The statue “Passe Muraille” located on this square is of his hand. “Passe Muraille” is a book by the author Marcel Aymé who lived for a long time on the Butte Montmartre.

It bears this name since the decree of the city council of Paris dated March 13, 20071.

It was inaugurated on April 26, 2008 by Daniel Vaillant, mayor of the 18th arrondissement of Paris, in the presence of Christophe Caresche, deputy of the eighteenth district of Paris, and of the cabaret director Michou (director of the Cabaret Michou, at no. 80 rue des Martyrs, who died in 2020, and is buried in the Saint-Vincent cemetery in Montmartre).

Eglise Saint Pierre de Montmartre (à côté du Sacré-Coeur)
2 rue du Mont Cenis
75018 Paris

Access

• Métro – Line   – Station Anvers
• Bus – 31, 54, 80, 85, 40
• Funicular

Short description

The Saint-Pierre de Montmartre church is a Roman Catholic parish church located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, at the top of the Montmartre hill, at n°2 rue du Mont-Cenis, west of the Sacré-Cœur basilica.

It is one of the two Catholic parish churches of the hillock with the church of Saint-Jean de Montmartre, (At the bottom of the Hill of Montmartre).

Started in 1133, the church of Saint-Pierre, one of the oldest in Paris, was completed in 1147, consecrated by Pope Eugene III, a Cistercian. The year 2017 marked the 870th anniversary of its dedication. It was both parish church and abbey church of the royal monastery of the Benedictine nuns of Montmartre.

The history of Notre-Dame de Montmartre Abbey came to an abrupt end in 1794. During the Revolution, the last abbess was guillotined and the other nuns were expelled. The abbey and the original statue of the Virgin are destroyed. Threatened several times with demolition, the parish church of Saint-Pierre miraculously survived.

In 1876, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre was built. All attention was focused on the new basilica, and the church of Saint Peter was almost forgotten.

In 1890, the choir of Saint Pierre threatened to collapse.  In 1896, the closing of the church of Saint Pierre for security reasons seems to be definitive. In 1895, even the clergy questioned the advisability of maintaining the church of Saint Peter once the church of Saint John was completed. However, the decision to save it was taken at the last minute, on October 12, 1897.  The city council finally decided that the church would be preserved in its entirety. The architect Louis Sauvageot was charged with the elaboration of a project.

Cardinal Suhard, Archbishop of Paris, officially recognized after 147 years the return of the cult to Notre-Dame de Montmartre in veneration of Notre-Dame de Montmartre, patron saint of artists around the world.

The Saint-Pierre church contains seven pieces of furniture classified as historical monuments

Place du Tertre
Place du Tertre
75018 Paris

Access

• Metro – Line 12 (Abbesses, Lamarck-Cautaincourt – Pigalle stations) – Line 2 (Anvers – Pigalle station)
• Bus – 30, 54, 40. (40 is the only line that runs on the Montmartre hill)
• Funicular of Montmartre : High Station

Short description

Place du Tertre in Montmartre is located on the Montmartre hillock, in the Clignancourt district of the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, at an altitude of 130 m. It was the center of the old village of Montmartre, a few meters from the Sacré-Coeur basilica and the Saint-Pierre de Montmartre church.

This old public square opened against the wall of the abbey of Montmartre in 1635 was frequented, from the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the First World War, by all the bohemian people who lived in Montmartre: painters, songwriters and poets. Toulouse-Lautrec, Poulbot, Picasso, Modigliani lived in rented rooms around.

Today, it is famous all over the world for its painters and its terraces where to have a drink. Many artists set up their easels there every day for tourists. It is also one of the most visited places in Paris.

Espace Montmartre-Salvador Dali
11 rue Poulbot
75018 Paris
Tel. 01 42 64 40 10

Access
Espace Montmartre-Salvador Dali
11 rue Poulbot – 75018 Paris

The Dalí space is located 30 meters from the Place du Tertre.

• Subway: Anvers (line 2), Abbesses or Lamarck-Caulaincourt (line 12).
• Bus : n°54, n°80 (Foot of the Montmartre Hill
• Montmartrobus n°40
• Funicular of Montmartre (included in the monthly RATP cards)
• Le petit-train de Montmartre : It will take you from Pigalle square to the Sacré-Coeur square (paying).

Short description

The Espace Salvador Dali includes two vast basements. One finds there sculptures, engravings, lithographs, anamorphoses of the surrealist artist.

Salvador Dali: the artist

“Appreciated as a “showman” and as one of the greatest artists of this century, Dalí will be praised for his technical ability and by those who know his most popular works and appreciate his lush imagination. Everyone seems to know the soft watches that appear in his paintings, even if the title, The Persistence of Memory, often escapes them.
– A.Fiel, Dalí sculpture collection, 2005

The Espace Salvador Dalí of Montmartre

Since April 2018, Dalí Paris has had a makeover. It is a private collection patiently assembled by Beniamino Levi, one of the great collectors and dealers of Salvador Dalí

The theatrical setting, the lighting, the interventions of Dali’s voice create a strange atmosphere not devoid of humor. The museum has more than 300 original works, representing his phantasmagorical world.

Statue de Passe-Muraille
Place Marcel Aymé
75018 Paris

Access

• Statue of the Upper Montmartre

Short description

The Passe-Muraille by Marcel Aymé is a fantastic short story, originally published in 1941. The action takes place mainly in Montmartre. The actor Jean Marais, also a sculptor, materialized the story in Place Marcel Aymé – Rue Norvins. Marcel Aymé and Jean Marais were both residents of Montmartre.

House of Tzara
15 avenue Junot
75018 Paris
Architecte : Adolf Loos (1926)

Access

• Montmartre Hill-
• Metro – Line 2 (Anvers station then Montmartre funicular) – Line 12 (Lamarck-Caulaincourt and Abbesses stations)
• RER – Lines B and D (Gare du Nord-Magenta Station)
• Bus – 80 and 40 (Stop Saules-Cortot or Montcenis-Cortot)
• Funicular of Montmartre

Short description

In 1926, the dada poet Tristan Tzara had the Austrian architect Adolf Loos build a house that sums up his architectural approach: the essence of modern architecture is not in the beauty of the elements that make up a building, but in the beauty of pure forms, the relationships that the volumes have with each other. This can be seen in the contrast between the lightness of the white second floor, hollowed out of a rectangular box, and the first floor in rubble.

Just to the left, at n° 13, it is the hotel of the cartoonist Poulbot acquired once the success came.

Le Moulin de la Galette (Restaurant)
83 rue Lepic
75018 Paris (Montmartre)

Le Moulin de la Galette (“Le Blute-fin”)
75-77 rue Lepic
75018 Paris

These 2 streets are neighbors

Access

Le Moulin de la Galette (Restaurant)
83 rue Lepic
75018 Paris (Montmartre)

Le Moulin de la Galette (“Le Blute-fin”)
75-77 rue Lepic
75018 Paris

These 2 streets are neighbors on Montmartre Hill

• Metro – Lamarck-Caulaincourt (Line 12) and Abbesses (Line 2)
• Bus – 30, 40, 54 , 80

Short description

The Moulin-de-la-Galette is in fact a duo of mills. The history of the Moulin-de-la-Galette is that of 2 mills: the mill called “Le Blute-fin” and the other “Le_Radet”, both belonging to the Debray family, millers and … manufacturers of galettes sold in their famous and very popular ball of the Butte Montmartre along the 19th century!

The “Blute-fin” mill is today the only remaining windmill on the Butte Montmartre, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, and still in working order.

To know more, a lot more on the Moulin-de-la-Galette in English or in French.

Maison de Dalida à Montmartre
11 bis rue d’Orchamps
75018 Paris

Access

• Metro – Lamarck-Caulaincourt (Line 12) and Abbesses (Line 2)
• Bus – 30, 40, 54 , 80

Short description

Dalida’s house is located at 11 bis rue d’Orchamps, on the Butte Montmartre, in Paris. Peaceful, this street reminds of the countryside and freedom. What Dalida was trying to find in the middle of Paris. In a television interview in 1975, she said “I have always loved Montmartre, I found it so peaceful and quiet that I immediately bought this house when I saw it,” she said, before specifying that the neighborhood evokes for her the countryside in the heart of Paris.

The house is already an attraction during the singer’s lifetime. Some fans spent hours watching for her exits.  “I can’t stand it anymore. I’m sick, I want to go to the doctor and I have to put on makeup, I have to poison myself because I know they’ll be there. I can’t take it anymore. I want to be still.” But elle n’était pas toujours excédée par ce manque de liberté. Elle savait aussi être aimable avec eux et même les inviter chez elle.

She also loved her neighborhood. Dalida had her habits at the Moulin de la Galette, 50 m from her home, where she always sat by the window at table number three.

Square Suzanne-Buisson
7 bis, rue Girardon ou Rue Simon Demeure
75018 Paris

Access

• Metro – Lamarck-Caulaincourt (Line 12) and Abbesses (Line 2)
• Bus – 30, 40, 54 , 80

Short description

The square Suzanne-Buisson is a green space in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It is named after the politician and resistance fighter Suzanne Buisson (1883-1944), who was deported and died in Auschwitz.

Suzanne Buisson: a left-wing and Jewish activist.

She was arrested on April 1, 1944 in Lyon, to be locked up and tortured in the Montluc prison in Lyon. Transferred to Fresnes in Paris on May 12, she finally arrived at Drancy on June 28, 1944. She was deported on June 30, 1944 from the Drancy camp to Auschwitz.

Statue of Saint Denis

Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was tortured (beheaded) in the 3rd century by the Romans. He is shown carrying his head to the actual city of Saint Denis, 6 km away. This is of course only a legend.

The garden in the square

A game of bowls and play structures make it a garden very popular with all generations of Montmartre residents. Plane trees, poplars and rose bushes, as well as trees chosen for their exceptional flowering: apple and cherry trees, prunus ‘pissardii’. A sorbier des oiseleurs stands among them. This poetically named tree can live up to 150 years in cool, light soil, and its reddish-coral pisiform (pea-sized) fruits persist from July to December.

Château des Brouillards
Allée des Brouillards
75018 Paris

Access

Château des Brouillards
Allée des Brouillards
75018 Paris

• This street is located on the northern slope of the Montmartre hill; it starts at place Dalida and ends at 4, place Casadesus.
• It is served by line 12 at the Lamarck – Caulaincourt station and by the RATP bus line 40 at the Abreuvoir – Girardon stop.

Short description

The Allée des Brouillards, its castle and the Casadesus family of musicians. An indissociable whole in this area of Montmartre Hill.

Place Casadesus is an extension of the Allée des Brouillards since 1995. The Casadesus family bought the Château des Brouillards at the end of 1920.

The Château des Brouillards was built before 1789. Its different owners have restored it several times, artists have occupied it more or less legally. It was only in 1920 that Victor Perrot (1865-1963) turned a ruin into the present manor.

Bust of Singer Dalida
Dalida Square
75018 Paris

Access

• Metro – Line 2 (Anvers station then Montmartre funicular) – Line 12 (Lamarck-Caulaincourt and Abbesses stations)
• RER – Lines B and D (Gare du Nord-Magenta Station)
• Bus – 80 and 40 (Stop Saules-Cortot or Montcenis-Cortot)
• Funicular of Montmartre

Short description

The Dalida bust and Square are a tribute to the singer who lived a few meters from there (11B Rue d’Orchampt, 75018 Paris) between 1962 and 1987. She became a prominent figure in Montmartre, and her memory lives on in the collective memory of the inhabitants who recall her memory with emotion. Dalida loved the area of the Montmartre hillock. Another tribute to Dalida is the 1996 vintage of the Clos Montmartre wine: it bears her name.

Dalida is buried a few hundred meters away, in the Cemetery of Montmartre.

Rue de l’Abreuvoir
75018 Paris

Access

Rue de l’Abreuvoir
75018 Paris

• Montmartre Hill
• Metro – Line 2 (Anvers station then Montmartre funicular) – Line 12 (Lamarck-Caulaincourt and Abbesses stations)
• RER – Lines B and D (Gare du Nord-Magenta Station)
• Bus – 80 and 40 (Stop Saules-Cortot or Montcenis-Cortot)
• Funicular of Montmartre

Short description

The Abreuvoir street is located on the Butte Montmartre in Paris, in the Grandes-arrières district of the 18th arrondissement. It has a discreet country charm. It is probably the most photographed street in Montmartre, for several reasons, from the Maison Rose located at number 2 to the perspective on the Sacré Coeur from the Allée des Brouillards and the Place Dalida.

La Maison rose
2 rue de l’Abreuvoir (A l’angle de la rue des Saules)
75018 Paris

Access

• Montmartre, 2 rue de l’Abreuvoir (A l’angle de la rue des Saules)
• Metro – Line 2 (Anvers station then Montmartre funicular) – Line 12 (Lamarck-Caulaincourt and Abbesses stations)
• RER – Lines B and D (Gare du Nord-Magenta Station)
• Bus – 80 and 40 (Stop Saules-Cortot or Montcenis-Cortot)
• Funicular of Montmartre

Short description

It’s famous for Utrillo’s painting of it. Ramon Pichot bought this little house around 1905. Also a painter, he was a friend of the Catalan Dali and the Spaniard Pablo Picasso. He often received them in this house, which served as his studio.

In 1908, he married Germaine Gargallo, a Montmartre figure and model for the painters. After a trip to Spain, Germaine repainted the outside walls pink and opened a restaurant.

The story goes that Utrillo made La Maison Rose famous by painting it in one of his pictures. However, it was Élisée Maclet, a modest painter, but recognized at the time as (or more) renowned than Utrillo, who was his friend. He painted La Maison Rose and Montmartre long before Utrillo.

Clos de Montmartre  (Vignes de Montmartre)
Rue des Saules
75018 Paris

Access

• Metro – Line 12 (Lamarck-Caulaincourt station)
• Bus : n° 80 and 40
• Parking : Parking garage at 350 meters rue Custine.
• Cab : Lamarck station or on request.

Short description

The vineyard of Montmartre, whose official name is the Clos-Montmartre, is a vineyard planted on the hillock Montmartre, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.. The vineyard grows on the northern slope of the Montmartre hillock, along the rue Saint-Vincent and the rue des Saules.

Owner of the vineyard: City of Paris,
Manager: Comité des Fêtes du 18e arrondissement
Maintenance of the vineyard: Technical services of the City of Paris
Annual production: about 1000 numbered bottles

In the 12th century, vines were planted by the ladies of the abbey of Montmartre founded by Adelaide of Savoy. But the impoverishment of the abbey led the nuns to sell the vineyard plots. In the 16th century, the inhabitants of Montmartre, which was then located outside of Paris (until 1860), were mainly ploughmen and winegrowers. The vines were cultivated from the top of the hill to the surrounding plains.

But since Montmartre was annexed to Paris in 1860, the houses grew at the expense of the remaining vineyard. In 1930, it was planned to build buildings there. This was without counting on the mobilization of the inhabitants of the district who were opposed to these constructions.

The disappearance of the vines in Montmartre is complete in 1928. They were replanted five years later with 2,000 Gamay and Pinot Noir vines.

The first harvest festival in 1934, takes place on the second weekend of October. It was sponsored by Mistinguett and Fernandel, and took place in the presence of the President of the Republic Albert Lebrun. But there were no grapes yet, the vineyard was only 2 years old. So grapes were bought at Les Halles and bunches were hung with wire so that the sponsors could cut them.

Au Lapin Agile
22 rue des Saules
75018 Paris
https://au-lapin-agile.com/

Access

Au Lapin Agile
22 rue des Saules
75018 Paris
https://au-lapin-agile.com/

• Metro – Line 12 (Lamarck-Caulaincourt station)
• Bus : n° 80 and 40
• Parking : Parking garage at 350 meters rue Custine.
• Cab : Lamarck station or on request.

Short description

The Cabaret Lapin-Agile (Agile rabbit) has an international reputation. It is well known to most tourists who come to Montmartre. However, it is an ordinary little house, but it is also an “old fashioned” cabaret and has a whole history.

The little house with the sign of the “Lapin agile” is the former cabaret of the “Assassins”. In 1880, the owner entrusted the caricaturist André Gill, who was familiar with the place, with the creation of a sign: the cabaret then became known under the name “Au Lapin à Gill”, soon phonetically transformed into “Lapin Agile”.

The Lapin-Agile cabaret today: still unlike any other.

Musée de Montmartre – Jardins Renoir
12 rue Cortot
75018 Paris
https://museedemontmartre.fr/

Access

• Metro – Line 2 (Anvers station then Montmartre funicular) – Line 12 (Lamarck-Caulaincourt and Abbesses stations)
• RER – Lines B and D (Gare du Nord-Magenta Station)
• Bus – 80 and 40 (Stop Saules-Cortot or Montcenis-Cortot)
• Funicular of Montmartre

Short description

The Montmartre Museum – Renoir Gardens is a French art museum located in Paris, in the 18th arrondissement. It is installed in a group of buildings that includes the Hotel Demarne and the House of Bel Air and surrounded by the “Renoir Gardens”.

Inaugurated in 1960, it has been refurbished since 2011 and gives rise to several annual temporary exhibitions.

The Museum was created in one of the oldest buildings of the Butte, built in the 17th century: the Maison du Bel Air.

This House of Bel Air was also the place of creation and work of many artists as Suzanne Valadon,  Maurice Utrillo, André Utter (painter, husband of Suzanne Valadon), Emile Bernard, the fauvists Othon Friesz and Raoul Dufy, Demetrios Galanis, Francisque Poulbot, etc.  Auguste Renoir rented a studio there in 1876 and during his stay he painted major canvases such as The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette, The Swing and Garden on Rue Cortot in Montmartre.

The permanent collections take you back to the history of the Butte Montmartre, the effervescence of its workshops, from the Bateau-Lavoir to the Cortot workshop, and the atmosphere of its famous cabarets, from the Lapin Agile to the Moulin Rouge. One room is dedicated to the French Cancan, another to shadow theater, the dreamlike décor that made the reputation of the Chat Noir cabaret. The artists settled there from 1870. The cafés and cabarets multiplied in the 1880s. One finds there the artistic bohemia of Montmartre specific

The Museum houses a unique collection of paintings, posters and drawings by Toulouse-Lautrec, Modigliani, Kupka, Steinlen, Valadon, Utrillo, Pierre Dumont, Charles Genty. There are also illustrations, photographs and testimonials signed by artists.

The Montmartre Museum has reconstructed the studio where Suzanne Valadon, her son Maurice Utrillo and her partner André Utter lived.