I was doing a blog series on Parisian landmarks to celebrate the publication of my novella, Paris in Clichés. Well, it’s six years after its publication, and I figured it’s high time to finish the series! I promised I would cover Montmartre!
Previous landmarks I’ve explored are:
- Shakespeare and Company: A Bookstore as Cozy as You Imagine a Bookstore Would Be
- Berthillon: An Astonishing Ice Cream Shop on the Île Saint-Louis
- Bateaux Mouches on the River Seine
- Eiffel Tower
- Macarons at Ladurée on the Champs-Elysées
- Get Lost in the Louvre
- Take in the View from the Sacré-Cœur
- Modernism at Musée D’Orsay
Meander in Montmartre
Back when I covered the Sacré-Cœur, I promised I’d cover Montmartre in more depth later. Here it is!
To start, Montmartre was once a village outside Paris, which gives it some character all its own. It’s perched on a hill, crowned with the Sacré-Cœur church, and so it’s filled with narrow streets and stairs leading upwards. (Though there is a funicular you can pay to use if you want to skip the fun of walking).
When you think of Paris, you might think of stately boulevards and luxury shops, or you might think of narrow lanes where artists are nourished, full of paint and colour and scrubby bohemians. It’s this second view of Paris that Montmartre embodies.
Historically, artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Piet Mondrian, and Pablo Picasso lived or worked there. And it was filled with more scandalous establishments like the Moulin Rouge. It’s much more touristy nowadays, but you can still feel the bohemian atmosphere as you wander around. There’s even a square near the top where artists still gather and paint and sell their paintings to tourists (Place du Tertre). You can sit for a portrait or a caricature, or buy a painting of one of Paris’ famous landmarks – or if you’re more daring, an original work
When I went to Paris last I still had a decent number of euros in my pocket at the end of my trip, so I climbed up to the Place du Tertre early in the morning before my flight, and looked for some small piece I could take home with me. I ended up with a nice street view with the Sacré-Cœur at the end. You can kind of tell that many of the artists crank out these scenes because they know tourists will buy them, but I didn’t mind – it was still a nice souvenir of my trip.
Another thing I did in Montmartre was sit in a café and people-watch. I was very intimidated to order in French (it’s true that French waiters and store clerks can look quite annoyed at you, though in some ways I don’t blame them since they have to deal with hordes of tourists constantly), but I managed. I did well enough that later I went to a restaurant that sold Breton crepes – crepes made of buckwheat so they’re gluten free – with different fillings in them. They were SO delicious. I love this type of crepe. Years later I found some in Montreal as well.
It’s also nice to just wander the streets in Montmartre. You might as well walk past the Moulin Rouge while you’re there. There’s another square, Place des Abbesses, with a carousel in it, and a historic church on one side. Slip down a narrow alley or climb a hidden stair and see what you can find. When it was raining at one point, I ducked into a free art gallery which, though not the Louvre, was still interesting to see. There is even a vineyard in Montmartre, though I didn’t personally go look at it.
So go ahead – meander around Montmartre 😊
Make sure you follow this blog so you don’t miss the next landmark.
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My novella set in Paris, Paris in Clichés, can be found here.
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Posts in this series:
- Paris is Still Always a Good Idea
- Shakespeare and Company
- Berthillon: An Astonishing Ice Cream Shop on the Île Saint-Louis
- Bateaux Mouches on the River Seine
- Don’t Miss the Eiffel Tower
- Macarons at Ladurée on the Champs-Elysées
- Get Lost in the Louvre
- Take in the View from the Sacré-Cœur
- Modernism at Musée D’Orsay
Hmm... 
What do you think? Comment here!