Paris Montmartre (18ème)

One of Paris's most storied neighborhoods, Montmartre was once home to lots of famous artists. Today, the Place du Tertre, a former artist hangout, is dominated by drunk portraitists instead. From the hills of Montmartre to the seedy underworld of Pigalle, there's plenty to see here and plenty of English spoken.

Halle St. Pierre, 2 rue Ronsard (☎01 42 51 10 49; www.hallesaintpierre.org), Halle St. Pierre is a one-of-a-kind, abstract art museum located right down the street from the Basilica. Exhibits are constantly rotating, so the museum is naturally hard to pin down. The art on display tends to be a bit far out. One of Halle St. Pierre's more recent exhibits was on “Art Brut Japonais,” or Japanese Outsider Art; during out visit, a stand out among the many mind-bending works there was a series of dirty pairs of underwear, or as the French call them, slips. Luckily they didn't smell. Halle St. Pierre also houses rentable workshops, a top-notch bookstore, and a constantly crowded cafe. The museum section is not closed off, so the soft din of cafe chatter accompanies any museum visit. €7.50, €6 Students. Open daily 10am-6pm. August, noon-6pm and closed on weekends. Annual closing: December 25, January 1. May 1, July 14, and August 15. Takes credit cards.
Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, 35 rue du Chevalier-de-la-Barre (☎01 53 41 89 00; www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.fr), Situated 129m above sea-level, the steps of the Basilique offer what is possibly the best view in the whole city. This splendid basilica first under went construction in 1870. Its purpose? To serve as a spiritual bulwark for France and the Catholic religion, under the weight of a pending military loss and German occupation. The basilica was initially meant to be an assertion of conservative, Catholic power, commissioned by the National Assembly. Today, the Basilica sees over 10 million visitors per year, and is accompanied by an attendant list of tourist traps; outside the Basilica, beware of men trying to”give you” a bracelet or other tourist trinkets, because they'll start to yell emphatically that you have to pay them once you don't. The Cathedral itself is home to two souvenir shops. The Museum has some interesting artistic and architectural features: its slightly muted Roman-Byzantine architecture was a reaction against the perceived excess at the recently constructed Opéra Garnie Free. Basilica open daily 6am-11pm. Mass daily 10pm. Mass during the week, 11:15am, 6:30pm. Sunday 11am, 6pm. Wheelchair access.
Cimetière Montmartre, 20 ave. Rachel (☎01 53 42 36 30), A particularly vast cemetery, Montmartre was built belowground on the site of a former quarry and stretches across a significant portion of the 18th arrondissement. It is now the resting place of multiple famous people: painter Edgar Degas, artist Gustave Moreau, writer Émile Zola, saxophone inventor Adolphe Sax, and ballet dancer Marie Taglioni are among the long-term residents. Fans leave ballet shoes on Taglioni's grave and coins, notes, etc. at some of the other famous gravestones. The cemetery itself is in disrepair; several graves have broken windows, and could use some maintenance and cleaning. The mischievous crowd of the Red Light District is surely to thank for this. Free.
Place du Tertre, rue Norvins On the lovely, constantly bustling Place du Tertre, artists set up their easels to showcase their old works and draw portraits of tourists. The very existence of this square recalls a different time for the Montmartre neighborhood, when painters like Picasso and Salvador Dalí lived here and revolutionized 20th century art. Today, street artists—many of them drunk and drinking—chef up quick portraits of tourists; kids squirm uncomfortably, posing in front of hundreds of passersby as their parents assure them that they'll thank them later (maybe?). Several of the cafes surrounding the square have terraces in the middle of the place that offer a gluttonous people-watching experience.
Musee Montmartre, 12 rue Cortot 01 49 25 89 37 Located on the site of the former home of Claude de La Rose (Molière's successor), and in the building that housed the ateliers of Van Gogh and Renoir, the Musee Montmartre is dedicated entirely to the fascinating history of the 18ème. Exhibits intertwine the rich histories of individual neighborhoods within the arrondissement: those of the Vignes, the Basilique Sacré-Coeur, several of the artists who worked in the neighborhood, and the Lapin Agile, among others. The museum tells many eccentric stories; we for one didn't know that the name for Le Lapin Agile came about when a picture of a rabbit escaping from a pan was painted on its outer walls. The museum is small, the staff is unnecessarily nitpicky with its guests, and the rooms can get a bit musty, but this is nonetheless a good place to start before you continue touring Montmartre. Don't forget to check out the beautiful view of Paris from the museum's garden on your way in or out. Takes credit cards.
Les Vignes, rue des Saules All the way back in the 16th century, the primary occupation of the residents of Montmartre was owning and operating vineyards. In 1933, Paris decided to plant ceremonial vines on a plot of land on the Butte Montmartre. The wine was never all that good. In the words of one very unflattering 17th-century saying: “It's Montmartre wine of which you drink a pint and piss out a quart.” Access to the public is forbidden (by the looks of the vines, it's closed to vineyard workers as well!), except during the Celebration of the Harvest of Montmartre, held annually in the fall. The grapes from the rather unkempt vines are pressed into wine in the basement of the 18th arrondissement's Mairie.
Le Bateau Lavoir, 11bis pl. Émile Godeau This house is known principally for being the home/workshop of many famous early-20th-century painters and writers. The name of the house (The Washing Boat) was coined because, on stormy days, the poorly built shacks on the pl. Émile Godeau (then pl. Ravignan) shook and swayed about in the wind and stormy weather, reminding residents of washing boats on the Seine. This house's list of residents/occupants is impressive: Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Henri Matisse, and Max Jacob all lived or hung around the Bateau Lavoir. A fire in the 1970s completely burned the house's inside, leaving only its facade standing. It was rebuilt and divided into 25 artist workshops. It is always closed to the public, but you can feel the history that emanates from it if you stand outside or peer in.