Montmartre is one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Paris.
With its steep staircases and ivy-covered buildings,
it feels a bit set apart from the rest of the city.
And it is - it's located in the 18th Arrondissement
and gets its name -Montmartre - from its position at the top of a high hill.
Montmartre is best known for three things:
art,
nightlife,
and the white-domed basilica that sits at the summit keeping watch over Paris.
It won't take long to feel the artistic vibes in this district.
Walking around you're sure to notice statues and plenty of street art.
You may even catch a songbird giving a free performance.
The history of the art scene in Montmartre is evident practically everywhere you look.
When you walk around up near the base of the basilica,
you'll find artists set up with their paintings to sell
or working on their latest piece.
Look for Place du Tertre which is the square where artists congregate.
There's a long history here
and this square has been open to the public since 1635,
many years before it became known as a gathering place
for artists to live and work.
Monet,
Renoir,
Degas,
Picasso,
Mondrian,
and Modigliani either lived or had studios around here.
You can still see where two of its most famous residents once called home.
Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo
lived here behind the big blue door from 1886 to 1888.
Vincent slept in a small room and had a studio at the back
in a room with a small window.
You can imagine the space inside and the walls being covered by his paintings.
Not too far away is where Toulouse-Lautrec lived and worked from 1887 to 1893.
Toulouse-Lautrec is perhaps the artist most associated with Montmartre
because he painted many scenes of daily life here
and in 1889 he was commissioned to paint posters for the newly opened Moulin Rouge.
They displayed his art and always reserved a table for him.
It's here at this address he would've worked on those now iconic posters.
That original Moulin Rouge burned down in 1915 but it was rebuilt.
It's just down from Montmartre in the neighbourhood of Pigalle.
Its red windmill and bright lights are unmistakable
and its known as the birthplace of the can can dance
and you can still see the cabaret show to this day.
Back up the hill in Montmartre is Moulin de la Galette
best known as a favourite place of entertainment for artists like Renoir
who painted a famous scene here that you can now see at the Musee d'Orsay.
The windmill doesn't turn anymore but it's a designated historic site.
Today it's still a place for gathering and entertainment
as you can eat at the restaurant here.
Not far from the iconic Moulin de la Galette
is a park where you can find a mural dedicated to love.
It's called the Wall of Love or the I Love You Wall.
It was created by two artists in the year 2000
and is composed of 612 tiles that take up 40 square metres.
The words 'I love you' are written 311 times in 250 languages!
The splashes of red represent a broken heart and how humanity has been torn apart
and the mural seeks to reunite us all.
It's fun to go and look for your language and take a photo.
Something you might not love about Montmartre after a while are all the stairs.
113 steps.
Montmartre.
If your feet need a break, or even if they don't,
I highly recommend taking a ride on the Little Train of Montmartre, as it's called.
I love this thing so much and its existence makes me happy.
For 6,50 € you get a 40 minute guided tour that talks about the history of the area
and some of its most famous residents and stories.
It's also just a great chance to get an overview of Montmartre in a very charming way.
On the left, the Café des 2 Moulins,
which became famous with the film "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain."
Another fun way to get up to Montmartre is by taking the funicular.
It's part of the Paris metro system
and you'll find not only tourists
but locals with their groceries getting a lift up the hill.
It's been used since 1900
and was completely rebuilt in 1935 and then again in 1991.
So it's been shuttling people up and down the hill for over a hundred years now
and carries around 2 million passengers per year.
It climbs up 36 metres and takes a minute and a half.
It's a short journey but another way to feel part of the local history.
The funicular will bring you to the summit of Montmartre
which also happens to be the highest point in the city.
Here you find Montmartre's most visible landmark:
the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris
or simply Sacré-Cœur as it's better known.
It's a Roman Catholic church and it’s white domes are an iconic site throughout Paris
because you can see it from so far across the city.
The church itself isn't so old, at least by French standards.
It was built from 1875 to 1914
and was consecrated after the war in 1919.
The site, however, has a long history as being a place of worship
from the Druids to the Romans and beyond.
You can go inside and see the beautiful dome from the interior
as well as the stained glass
and the organ.
As lovely as it is inside,
I personally much prefer the exterior
and the view of Paris from this vantage point.
The steps and lawn here are a super popular place to hang out.
The summit of Montmartre is home to another church
which is much less known but much, much older:
in fact, the church of Saint Peter of Montmartre is one of the oldest churches in Paris.
It was built in the year 1147
and it's just around the corner from the better known Sacré-Cœur.
Don't miss the chance to go inside here.
It's not often you can visit anything that's almost 900 years old.
Head back to Sacré-Cœur and climb the 222 stairs to the bottom
where you'll find one of Paris' magical carousels.
This one has pictures of Venice around the top.
I don't know about you but I find carousels absolutely enchanting
and for only 2 Euros, it's irresistible to go for a spin.
It's fun to scope out what you want to ride ahead of time as you watch it go 'round.
You want the inside?
Yeah.
Ok.
It doesn't matter.
Yeah, yeah.
Take the inside if you want.
This carousel is full of horses to choose from
and riding it made me so, so happy.
Montmartre is, of course, also the setting for the movie Amélie
and you'll recognize many of the spots in this video from the movie,
including this carousel at the base of the Sacré-Cœur steps.
I hope you've enjoyed this little tour around one of the most charming districts in Paris.
We've made lots of other videos about Paris
so check them out for more on what to do,
where and what to eat,
and where to shop.
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