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  1. Belvédère de Montmartre / © Oliver Knight
    Belvédère de Montmartre / © Oliver Knight
  2. Vignes de Montmartre / © Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
    Vignes de Montmartre / © Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
  3. Escaliers de Montmartre
    Escaliers de Montmartre
  4. CImentière de Montmartre / © Oliver Knight
    CImentière de Montmartre / © Oliver Knight
  5. Fontaine du Château d'eau de Montmartre / © Paris Tourist Office - Marc Bertrand
    Fontaine du Château d'eau de Montmartre / © Paris Tourist Office - Marc Bertrand
  6. Villa Léandre / © Paris Tourist Office - Marc Bertrand
    Villa Léandre / © Paris Tourist Office - Marc Bertrand
  7. Marché Saint-Pierre / © Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
    Marché Saint-Pierre / © Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
  8. Montmartre / 	© Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
    Montmartre / © Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
  9. Fontaine Wallace Montmartre
    Fontaine Wallace Montmartre
  10. Le Moulin Radet / © Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
    Le Moulin Radet / © Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
  11. Tombe de Dalida / © Oliver Knight
    Tombe de Dalida / © Oliver Knight
  12. Place des Abbesses / © Paris Tourist Office : Marc Bertrand
    Place des Abbesses / © Paris Tourist Office : Marc Bertrand

    Montmartre 75018

  13. Square Ravignan Montmartre / © C.G.
    Square Ravignan Montmartre / © C.G.
  14. Le Sacré Coeur / 	© Paris Tourist Office -  Jacques Lebar
    Le Sacré Coeur / © Paris Tourist Office - Jacques Lebar
  15. Peintres Place du Tertre / © Paris Tourist Office - Marc Bertrand
    Peintres Place du Tertre / © Paris Tourist Office - Marc Bertrand
  16. Marché de Barbes
    Marché de Barbes
  17. Le Lapin Agile / © Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
    Le Lapin Agile / © Paris Tourist Office - Amélie Dupont
  18. Moulin Rouge : Jacques Lebar / Paris Tourist Office
    Moulin Rouge : Jacques Lebar / Paris Tourist Office
  19. Exposition "Autour du Chat Noir" au Musée de Montmartre (Paris)
    Exposition "Autour du Chat Noir" au Musée de Montmartre (Paris)

Montmartre and Pigalle area guide

Tourists abound, but romance still rules on Paris's highest hill

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Gone are the days when Montmartre was a tranquil village packed with vines and windmills, although two 'moulins' (windmills) and a small patch of vines do still exist. Today, perched high on the 'Butte' (Paris's highest and most northerly hill), the area is tightly packed with houses, spiralling round the mound below the sugary-white dome of the Sacré-Coeur. Despite the thronging tourists (chiefly around Place du Tertre) it remains the most unabashedly romantic part of Paris – a place in which to climb quiet stairways, peer down narrow alleys onto ivy-clad houses, and watch the world go by in atmospheric cafés – especially along Rue des Abbesses, Rue des Trois Frères and Rue des Martyrs. Artists have historically been attracted to Montmartre since Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec immortalised the cabarets here in the late 19th century; even today an arty vibe lives on thanks to the upwardly-mobile film, music and media types that have moved in.

At the foot of Montmartre, Pigalle has a reputation as Paris's centre for sleaze. Peep shows and sex shops still do line the boulevard, but a younger, hipper and resolutely more wholesome crew line the pavements nowadays, queuing to get into cool music clubs like the Boule Noire, La Cigale and La Machine du Moulin Rouge – a hotbed of electro sound next door to the Moulin Rouge cabaret.

Just south of Pigalle, you'll find the often-overlooked quarter of Nouvelle Athènes – named after the neoclassical mansions built by waves of artists, writers and composers in the early 19th century. To glimpse these miniature palaces, wonder along Rue Ballu, Rue St Lazare (painter Paul Delaroche lived at Number 58), Rue de la Tour-des-Dames and Rue de la Rochefoucauld. The Musée Gustave Moreau on Rue de la Rochefoucauld is reason alone to come, featuring the artist's cluttered apartment and light-filled studio. Another wonderful museum is the Musée de la Vie Romantique, which displays mementoes of George Sand's life. It is especially lovely in summer when the rose garden turns into a tearoom.

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