Montmartre and the Sacré Coeur

Montmartre, a Paris neighborhood,

but still a village atmosphère.   

On of the most visited Paris neighborhood – One of the city’s most famous landmarks.

Montmartre is a hill. On its summit : the Sacré Coeur (=Holy Heart). For some Parisians, its nickname is “Paris’ beauty spot

Sacre Coeur – Édouard Leon Cortès (1882–1969)

A village until 1860 and the feeling still nowadays that you’re not totally in Paris.

Cobblestones narrow and winding streets, quaint houses, vineyards (yes : still nowadays ! A Harvest Festival every 1st weekend of October), 2 windmills, romantic alleyways and long stairways, restaurants and cafés that could be located in Provence, quiet squares. The feeling that you’re far from a big city…

And it’s where Amelie, (the movie) was shot.              

       

And from the Sacré Coeur terrace : a beautiful view over Paris.

Montmartre : the highlight of artistic life 

From the end of the 19th century ,  Montmartre is the center of artistic life in Paris, the model of a free , bohemian existence.  Composers, writers, painters, poets are gathering, lived and worked in Montmartre

Impressionist painters :Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissaro, Utrillo, Cezanne, Sysley…

Other painters : Modigliani, Picasso (he painted “Les demoiselles d’Avignon” in Montmartre), Van Gogh, Dali, Braque, Toulouse Lautrec, Seurat, Léger…

Writers, singers, poets, musicians : Appolinaire, , Debussy, Ravel, Satie, Stravinsky, Mallarmé, Verlaine, Proust, Edith Piaf, Boris Vian, Jean Cocteau, Truffaut,  ,, the Surrealists…etc lived  there too.

To enjoy Paris as a local : take a walk in Montmartre with “Ann Jeanne in Paris”

More photos :

My advice :

I’m a bit sad to see visitors going straight up to the top of Montmartre hill, stay for a while near the Sacré Coeur and Place du Tertre, then get back to the Metro stop Abbesses or Anvers. Yes, they’re missing a lot of what makes Montmartre a charming and quiet place, a village with its narrow cobblestone streets, its quaint houses…etc They’re probably missing the most important.

  • Visit Montmartre in the morning so to avoid too much crowd and if possible, plan to stay at least 3 or 4 hours in the neighborhood, the best would be the day with a break in a nice and quite restaurant or café not too close from the most touristic spots.
  • Why not start your walk from the Metro Stop Lamarck Caulaincourt (north of the Sacré Coeur) or from the Metro Blanche ? (see the Metro Map – Menu : Useful informations) – Metro Pigalle or Anvers possible too

Plan de Montmartre

How to get to Montmartre ?

Lamarck Caulaincourt  or Abbesses (line 12)

Blanche, Anvers (line 2)

Buses : 30, 54, 67 or Montmartrobus.

 

Some addresses :

  1. Le tracteur rouge – 41 rue Caulaincourt – Paris 18 : for a lovely lunch, brunch, or dinner in a charming and very welcoming place. Metro Lamark Caulaincourt (at the bottom of Montmartre hill)
  2. L’Hôtel Particulier – Charming hotel in the middle of Montmartre
  3. L’été en Pente douce – a nice colored tarrace – a quiet village atmosphere – a very pleasant place for a lunch, a drink, a break
  4. Le café des 2 moulins (the café of Amelie (movie)) – 15 rue Lepic – Paris 18 – Rue Lepic : where much of the movie Amelie was shot)
  5. Grenat et Taffetas –  Beautiful vintage jewels – 25 rue Houdon – Paris 18 nearby the Place des Abbesses – Metro Stop : Abesses
    75018 Paris –  0142592249      –   Tuesday to Saturday : 11 am to 7 pm, Sunday : 12 am to 6 pm
  6. Bakery Boris Lumé – 48 rue Caulaincourt – Paris 18

Here is a video shot a rainy winter day in Montmartre

Visit Montmartre, with “Ann Jeanne in Paris”, native Parisian : 

(cobblestones winding streets,  romantic alleyways, long stairways, vineyards, windmills, authentic cafes …)

  • You’d like to feel like a local and having a tour in a Paris neighborhood, but you don’t feel having a tour with a group ?
  • You’d like to discover Montmartre off the beaten path and get a real feel of an authentic Paris ?
  • You’d like to see Paris in another perspective and to know more about Paris lifestyle and Parisians ?    Feel free to contact me

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WELCOME !

  • I’d be delighted to welcome you and show you “my” Paris. And Paris will become “your” city too 🙂
  • The tour is private (with you only or you and the person you choose), at your pace. Duration : Half a day
  • For more details : The tours – Booking and Pricing
  • Feel free to contact me

 Ann Jeanne in Paris’ Private walking tours

Amelie-Audrey Tautou 2015-06-23 à 01.45.06

Amelie (the movie) movie is set in Montmartre.

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Amelie decide to change the lives or those around her for the better. The movie was filmed mainly in Paris. The Café des 2 Moulins where Amélie works is a real place, as the Greengrocer store, the video store…etc

Amelie-Audrey Tautou 2015-06-23 à 01.45.06

 

Stylistic, inventive, humoristic and charming movie : 

It’s a romantic comedy which was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Foreign Film, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Art Direction and Best Original Screenplay. Though the film failed to take home any awards, the film is still very popular in France as much as abroad. It’s stylistic, inventive, charming, humoristic…

 

A great love story : Amélie and Nino

Amélie falls in love with Nino Quincampoix, a dreamy  young man who works in a sex shop and in his spare time collects pictures from railway stations’ photo booths. Since Amélie is so introverted, a great part of the movie’s fun lies in watching the imaginative strategies she invents to seduce Nino.

 

The café and the Greengrocer : 

Amélie isa waitress at the café des 2 Moulins in Montmartre, which is staffed and frequented by a collection of eccentrics.

 

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Le marché de la Butte 2015-06-23 à 02.14.44

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Amelie” : some of the movie’s locations : 

  • rue Saint Vincent – Paris 18 (Montmartre)
  • rue des Saules       –      ”                “
  • Sacré Coeur Church
  • Amelie’s appartment : 56, rue des Trois frères – Montmartre
  • The greengrocer store (“Au marché de la butte”) : at the corner of Rue des Trois Frères and rue Androuet  (map below)  Amelie's grocery
  • Café des 2 Moulins : (the art deco café where Amelie works) 15 rue Lepic (map above)
  • Metro Lamark-Caulaincourt with the double staircase

Link to : “Montmartre, a village in Paris” article  

My advice

  • When you visit Montmartre, take a break at the cafe of Amélie; It’s really like in the movie. It’s a nice and quaint cafe…. but often crowded (everybody wants to visit the Amelie’s cafe…). So maybe choose a weekday and avoid the rush hours (midday and teatime…)
  • The nearest metro stop to the cafe is “Blanche”. 
  • To feel the atmosphere of the movie, walk the little streets between Lamark Caulaincourt (the metro stop) and the Sacré Coeur.

Amelie (In French : “Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain“) – 2001 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet with Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz – Soundtrack by Yann Tiersen