Bon Voyage: Paris / Montmartre
Neighborhood spotlight on "le butte" in the 18th arrondissement where hidden courtyards and secret passageways reveal oodles of charm.
After calling Paris home for almost a decade, I’ve accumulated a lot of little stars on my Google Maps. These favorites cover both sides of the Seine and are spread amongst Paris’s 20 arrondissements, which unfurl out from the center like an escargot. Within them are a handful of microneighborhoods—“quartiers” as they’re commonly called—that are almost like little villages. As we inch closer to the 2024 Summer Olympics, I’ll be sharing suggestions for how to best spend time in some of them. Feel free to choose your own adventure and show up when/how you’d like; the itinerary is meant to be a suggestion based on local intel and personal experience. Today, we head to Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement. Allons-y!
Getting Here and Around
This area, known as the “butte” since it’s located on a hill at the highest point in the city, is best reached by metro. The 18th arrondissement is quite far north, but three trains service the neighborhood: Line 2 at Blanche, Anvers, or Pigalle, Line 4 at Château Rouge, and Line 12 at Abbesses and Lamarck-Caulaincourt. The latter two stations drop you in the heart of Montmartre, but if arriving at either do not—and I repeat DO NOT—take the stairs. Follow the people who look like they know what they’re doing and wait for the (sometimes smelly) elevator. Unless you’re after a good sweat and getting your heart rate up, you will thank me. There’s still plenty of exercise to be had while walking around this hilly ’hood, which is also full of long, steep staircases and known for being an artistic hub where the likes of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec lived and the can-can dance originated. Personally, I’d take Line 12 to Lamarck-Caulaincourt and eventually work your way down to Abbesses or beyond. If you get off at Abbesses, you’ll either miss lots of what is further north or end up huffing and puffing uphill to get there.
