#12 The Hidden Montmartre, More than Just Charming

About the Hidden Montmartre Tour

Montmartre is known worldwide for its artistic influence and iconic venues, nowadays. But the story of the hill is far from being a bed of roses! Indeed, It has been the scene of many significant events and holds a special place in the memories of Parisians, for better or worse! This is why long-time residents try to preserve the Hidden Montmartre and its story, so often recounted by the most renowned writers!

Agricultural and Religious Past of Montmartre

The hill was once a big village populated mostly by winegrowers, quarry workers and farmers due to its soil rich in gypsum and water sources. Its position overlooking Paris made it also a religious stronghold, home of the legend of Saint-Denis and counting numerous abbeys. During the Hidden Montmartre Tour, you’ll learn how it shaped today’s neighborhood, and why the basilica of Sacré-Coeur was controversial.

Montmartre at the Heart of a Milestone Rebellion

Like Belleville, the other famous hill, and many outskirts, Montmartre is integrated into Paris in 1860 by Napoleon III and the prefect Baron Haussmann. From then, this will only exacerbate the resentment of the local blue-collar population towards the bourgeoisie from the center of Paris. The Hidden Montmartre tour will be the occasion to discover how this opposition culminated and how it forged the myth of the neighborhood.

Creative Burst during the Belle Epoque

In the early 20th century Montmartre became an important artistic center. This started with the apparition of obscure cabarets around Pigalle at the foot of the hill, with a taste for the esoteric and the morbid. Music-halls like Moulin Rouge, Folies Bergères or the now disappeared Chat Noir followed their steps, propelling to stardom very daring female dancers such as la Goulue, Mistinguett or Josephine Baker.

Montmartre who was already a source of inspiration for its rural spirit and bucolic views, suddenly acquired a status of place-to-be when this new creative boldness swept across. Indeed, art studios opened all over the hill hosting the likes of Picasso, Modigliani or Toulouse-Lautrec, and later on Salvador Dali.

All the ingredients were finally reunited for the bourgeois and the socialites to finally come to Montmartre, to mingle with the blue-collar, the bad seeds and the lost souls… and indulge themselves!

Pigalle, Once Scandalous

From 1910, the buzz around Pigalle attracted mafias that in turn gave a tumultuous reputation to the area with the development of prostitution and illegal gambling dens.

The 60s saw these mafias fiercely fought by the authorities and they ended losing interest to the profit of another more lucrative and fast-growing market, narcotics. From the 70s, the disappearance of the mafias and the evolution of the moral standards regarding sex resulted in the opening of sex shops and erotic clubs, which earned Pigalle the infamous label of red-light district of Paris.

This aspect as mainly disappeared in the 1990s, bar the few neon lights and adult shops along the boulevard.

The Hidden Montmartre Tour

On this tour, we’ll act as perfect flaneurs as we meander in the streets of the more local and less hectic north side of the hill, up to its summit. Along the way, we’ll appreciate the architecture of different eras, venture into hidden alleyways that sometimes resemble a village, take a peek at mansions and stop off at typical cafés and gardens. When on top, we’ll be rewarded by a unique panorama on Paris and discover the artistic hub that makes today’s Montmartre reputation.

Tour Options

The tour can be extended with a 1-hour meal together in a local French bistro and a 1-hour stroll in the trendy surroundings of Rue des Martyrs, formerly part of the lower Montmartre, now given the fashionable nickname of SOPI, for South Pigalle.