Montmartre: The Hill of Artists

Whenever the conversation turns to Paris, people ask which part of the city is the favorite. The author's answer never changes: Montmartre.

Montmartre is the highest ground in Paris, and its name means "Mount of Martyrs." Christians were martyred here during the Roman occupation, which is how it got its name. According to legend, Saint Denis was beheaded here and then walked, carrying his own head, all the way to the site of today's Basilica of Saint-Denis in northern Paris. After the persecution of Christians ended, monasteries and churches were built, and the hill took on the character it has today.

From the 19th century, artists such as Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Modigliani, and Van Gogh flocked here, and Montmartre naturally became the center of Paris's artistic life. Writers and musicians also based themselves here, and the stories of singers like Dalida and Édith Piaf are part of the neighborhood too. Walking its streets, you will pass the house where Van Gogh lived, the Maison Rose (a café in a former home of Maurice Utrillo), the cabaret where Édith Piaf sang, a statue of Dalida, and a restaurant that Picasso, Monet, and Renoir are said to have frequented. Just imagining it is exciting.

Montmartre is still regarded as the heart of Parisian art, and many artists work here today. Wander its alleys, look for traces of the painters and writers of the past and of the martyrs, and meet the artists who still paint here. Let's begin our Montmartre walk.