Montmartre
Montmartre is a hilltop neighbourhood in Paris's 18th arrondissement, crowned by the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and rising to 130.53 m — the highest point in the city. Before it was absorbed into Paris under the 1860 annexation decree, it was an independent commune in the Seine department. From the nineteenth century onward, artists including Picasso and Modigliani settled here, giving this corner of a vast capital a village-like quality — bohemian, unhurried, set apart. It's known for steep, narrow lanes and long runs of stone steps; walk past the tourist honeypots and you keep stumbling into small corners that thousands of visitors pass without a second glance.
France · 22 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Espace Dalí
Step inside and you're not entering a conventional art museum — you're falling into Salvador Dalí's Surrealist universe. The artist himself once declared, "Surrealism, that's me." Spread across two floors, this gallery holds more than 300 original works from the Dalí Universe collection, with a focus on sculpture and prints. It sits right in the heart of Montmartre, concentrating Dalí's visual language of desire, time, and the absurd into a single corner of the hill.
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Statue of the Chevalier de La Barre
On a hill famous for pleasure and art, this is a weightier monument: the Chevalier de La Barre (Knight of La Barre), a young man executed for religious nonconformity. Erected in 2001, the statue places back in public view a chapter of Montmartre's history that sits beyond the painters and the cabarets — the persecution of those who refused the prevailing faith, and the collision between conscience and authority that played out on this very hill.
Espace Henri Landier
At 20 Rue des Trois Frères, a modest but unusual space is dedicated entirely to the painter and printmaker Henri Landier. Opened in late 2022, it shows around sixty prints pulled by hand on a nineteenth-century Le Dily press. Landier worked in Montmartre for forty years — he is sometimes called one of the last guardians of the Butte — and knew Bernard Buffet and Jean Poulain. Seventy years of work left him with more than four thousand paintings and two thousand prints. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday afternoons, free of charge.
Sources: montmartre-addict.com · arts-in-the-city.com
The Wall of Love (Le Mur des Je t'aime)
In a corner of Place des Abbesses stands a wall of roughly 40 square metres, tiled in 612 pieces of volcanic Volvic enamel, covered in "I love you" written in 250 languages — 311 versions in all. It was made by artist Frédéric Baron, calligrapher Claire Kito, and mural specialist Daniel Boulogne, and unveiled in autumn 2000. What you're looking at isn't simply a romantic selfie backdrop: it began as a labour of patient fieldwork, with Baron collecting handwritten samples of "I love you" from neighbours, friends, and strangers on the street, one language at a time. That unglamorous, earnest process is what gives the wall its actual appeal.
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Bateau-Lavoir
Behind the address at 13 Place Émile-Goudeau hides a building that helped rewrite the history of twentieth-century art: the Bateau-Lavoir (Laundry Boat). Converted into studios for rent from 1889, it became from around 1904 onward a gathering point for Picasso and a circle of foreign artists, poets, theatre people, and art dealers. The origin of the name is debated — poet Max Jacob mocked it for having a single tap shared among twenty-five tenants, likening it to a laundry boat; others say the corridor resembled a ship's gangway, or that the wooden-and-glass structure itself called to mind the old washing boats moored on the Seine.
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Louis Renault Hill-Climb Plaque
Tucked near the road up to the Place du Tertre, a plaque marks the starting point of a Chr… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: alamy.com · fr.wikipedia.org
Max Jacob Memorial Plaque
The lanes around Rue Ravignan hold the deepest traces of Max Jacob (1876–1944), one of the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: montmartre-secret.com · fr.wikipedia.org
Kadist
At 19bis–21 Rue des Trois Frères sits an institution well known in international contempor… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: kadist.org · en.wikipedia.org
Van Gogh Brothers' Apartment
On the third floor of a white four-storey building at 54 Rue Lepic, a plaque records that… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: montmartrefootsteps.com · fr.wikipedia.org
Montmartre Martyrium
Behind the Place des Abbesses, beneath 11 Rue Yvonne-le-Tac, lies a site of significant we… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Rue Norvins
Rue Norvins takes its name from the historian Jacques Marquet de Montbreton de Norvins (17… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Montmartre Reservoir
In 1889 — the same year construction began on the Sacré-Cœur Basilica a few dozen metres a… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Saint-Jean de Montmartre Church
Walk into 19 Rue des Abbesses and you see a church with an unremarkable red-brick exterior… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Moulin de la Galette
The name Moulin de la Galette actually refers to two windmills that still stand on the hil… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Usine de relevage Saint-Pierre (Saint-Pierre Pumping Station)
Set apart from the tourist crowds near the Place Saint-Pierre, a low-key industrial buildi… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: eaudeparis.fr · usinenouvelle.com
Martyrium of Saint Denis
Halfway up the Montmartre hill, at 11 Rue Yvonne-le-Tac, lies a crypt that almost no touri… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Abbesses Métro Entrance (Guimard Édicule)
Abbesses is the deepest métro station in Montmartre — its platforms sit 36 metres below st… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Saint-Pierre de Montmartre
Visitors climbing to the top of Montmartre almost always fix their eyes on the Sacré-Cœur… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Théâtre des Abbesses
The Théâtre des Abbesses at 31 Rue des Abbesses is the only contemporary theatre at the fo… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Boulevard de Rochechouart Concert Venues
Boulevard de Rochechouart gathers some of Paris's most storied live music venues: La Cigal… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Théâtre de l'Atelier
On Place Charles-Dullin, the Théâtre de l'Atelier is one of the few nineteenth-century the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Cabaret de Patachou
Through the 1950s and 1960s, the Cabaret de Patachou was the most celebrated cabaret in Pa… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Montmartre?
Espace Dalí, Statue of the Chevalier de La Barre, Espace Henri Landier and more — 22 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Montmartre guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 17 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).