Montmartre in Paris, the Sacré Coeur and the artists' quarter (2024)

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One of the great free touristattractions of Paris is "Montmartre".Lying in the 18th district of modern central Paris, the "mount of Mars"or "mount of the martyrs" (there is some doubt about the origin of thename) is the highest point in the city, culminating at a height of 130metres or 430 ft. above sea level.... and quite a bit higher for thosewho pay to climb the 300 steps to the dome of the Sacré Coeur basilica.

Montmartre

No trip to Paris - and certainly no once-in-a-lifetime trip -is complete without a visit to Montmartre, the hill overlookingnorthern central Paris, famous for its dazzling basilica and its livelynarrow streets thronged with bistros, restaurants and artists. Afterthe Eiffel tower, the Louvre and Notre Dame cathedral, Montmartre isone of the four must-see locations of Paris.

How to get to Montmartre:

Theareaknownas Montmartre is located inthe 18tharrondissem*nt or district of Paris, due north of the Louvre. It can beeasily reached by metro, stations Abbesses (line 12), Pigalle(lines 2 and 12) or Anvers (line 2). The classic way to getup to the top of the hill ofMontmartre, known in French as LaButte Montmartre, is from the Anversmetro station. From here walk up the Rue Steinkerque until you reachthe gardens at the end. From here you can either take the funicular railwayup to the top, or walk upmore than 250 steps to the basilicaatthe top. The exact number of steps depends on the path you take.
One way or another, the higher you climb, the morethe panorama over the roofs of Paris opens up below you.
The greatest view of Paris is to be had from the top steps orfrom the esplanade in front of the Notre Dame basilica.

Another easy way to get to the top of the hill isto take the Montmartrobusshuttle, a small electric city bus that runs from Pigalle metrostationand up to the village on the hill (and down the other side). NormalParis travel tickets, including day passes, are valid on this service.Services run 7/7 year long, on average every 10 - 15 minutes during theday.

What to see in Montmartre

• The Sacré Coeur basilica is one of theemblematic monumentsof Paris. It's not old by European standards, as it was built ibetween1875 and 1914 - one of a number of white stone basilicas put up inFrance at the end of the nineteenth century – the other most famous onebeing the Basilique de Fourvière in Lyon.
  Designed bythe architect Paul Abadie in the neo-romano-byzantine style popular atthe time, the basilica was for some a monument to the victims of theFranco-Prussian war of 1870, for others a monument to the martyrs ofthe revolutionary Paris "Commune".
  The interior isrichly decorated, notably the apse, whose vault is decoratedin19th-century byzantine style with one of the world'slargestgilded mosaics, depicting Christ in Majesty.
  Entrance to thebasilica is free; there is however a charge for those who want to climbthe 330 steps to the viewing gallery around the dome.
  

• Place du TertreThis is the throbbing heart of the "artists' village" of Montmartre.Lined with brasseries and restaurants and cafés, most of the square isnow occupied by artists boutiques. It is here that tourists can gettheir portrait painted or sketched, or buy souvenir artwork. Theatmosphere here is very lively and busy – but don't imagine that allthe artists are Parisian. Some are, but the squareattactsartists,art-students and instant-portraiteers from all over Europe and beyond.As does Paris in general.
  The "village", the narrow cobbled streets around Place duTertre are full ofmore cafés and restaurants, as well as small arts and crafts shops
• Eglise St. Pierre:this small church close to the Basilica is one of the oldest in Paris,though it has been much restored. Built between 1147 and 1470, thechurch fell into disrepair in the 19th century before being renovatedbetween 1900 and 1905. The nave contains some very early mediaevalsculpted capitals and possibly some even older capitals recovered fromthe Roman temple of Mars that once adorned the hill ofMontmartre.
• Le Musée de Montmartre 8 - 14 rueCortot. The MontmartreMuseum occupies a large 18th century house which was once home to someof the artists with whom Montmartre is most intimately associated.Renoir painted here, as did Suzanne Valadon, Maurice Utrillo, OthonFriesz, Raoul Dufy and several more. In the museum visitors can seeValadon's studio, as well as paintings, drawings, posters and otherworks of art that tell the story of Montmartre in its artistic heyday.The enclosed gardens have been restored to appear as they did inRenoir's time.
  The museum gardens overlook what remainsof the Montmartre vineyards, which still produces severalhundredbottles of "Paris" wine each year - more as a curiosity than as a goodwine.
• Espace Dali. 11 rue Poulbot -Close to the Place duTertre, the Dali Museum celebrates the life and work of the surrealistpainter Salvador Dali. With 300 original works, mostly sculptures andengravings, this is the largest collection of Dali's works in Paris.
• TheMoulin Rouge and Pigalle. Whilestrongly associated with Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge and othercabarets are not on the Montmartre hill, but below . A popular touristattraction, the Moulin rougeis located on the Boulevard de Clichy, just outside the entrance to theBlanche metro station.
  ► Click forMoulinRouge bookings

Stay in Montmartre?

Links to main Paris touristattractions:

You can getyour portrait sketched on the Place du Tertre in about halfan hour

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Warning:there are real artists and scam artists:Thesteps up to the Sacré Coeur and the narrow streets of Montmartre,thronged as they often are with tourists and visitors, don't justattract artists. They are also attract their fair share ofscamartists and worse. Don't fall victim to card sharks,tricksters, dubious street vendors, pickpockets or sob-stories. Don'tfall for any of the scams involving jewellery, signing a petition,donating to a charity... If, as a tourist, you're approachedanywhere in Paris (or any other tourist city for that matter) for anyof these purposes, don't fall for it, however genuine they may appear.Bona-fide charities, petitions and even street vendors other thansouvenir sellers don't go badgering tourists in crowded locations.

Cafés andsmall shops abound in the small streets in the village on the hill

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