Private Walking Tour of Montmartre: Bohemians, Booze, and Blessings

This former remote and unruly village, attached to Paris belatedly, has held on to an independent spirit not visible at first glance. To discover its authentic and picturesque charm, you must step of the beaten path and immerse yourself in its history. One must earn Montmartre, but it’s worth the effort.

Montmartre Walking Tour

Montmartre is a unique Parisian neighborhood, which served as a backdrop to the evolution of modern art from Impressionism to Cubism, from Renoir to Picasso. The first generation of artists arrived here in the 1870s-1900s with Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, or Van Gogh. The second—Picasso, Braque, Derain, Max Jacob, André Salmon—came in the 1900s-1910s. This tour is focussed on the artistic heyday of Montmartre, which lasted from the 1870s to World War One. It also provides thorough insight into its historic and religious past, from the early Middle Ages to the Paris Commune.

The tour starts on the lesser-known, secluded side on the Montmartre hill, to immerse ourselves right away in its singular atmosphere. We’ll discover the romantic ‘Castle of Fogs’, the Maison Rose recognizable on many paintings, a pocket-size vineyard, and a famous ‘cabaret of murderers’ that let Picasso pay with his canvases.

Only then will we hit the iconic site of this legendary quarter—the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, an immaculate keepsake of one of the bloodiest episodes of Paris history. We will admire, from the very top of the hill, the famous view of Paris.

Back to the little streets, we stroll past the noisy Place du Tertre with its artists and easels and return to exploring the backstage of Montmartre. It’s the hidden side of these legendary locations that reveals its bohemian soul! We will peek into Renoir’s famous garden and discover the scenery behind his joyful masterpiece Dance at Le moulin de la Galette. A few minutes’ walk away, the artists’ first squatting site keeps the memories of Picasso’s and his gang’s daily life (before they moved to Montparnasse, that is).

We will also catch a glimpse of Montmartre’s earlier past. In 250 AD, Saint Denis, the first Bishop of Paris and future patron saint of the French kings, was martyrized here by the Romans. Beheaded, he picked up his head and kept walking through Montmartre… or so the legend says!

Foodie Highlights of Montmartre

Penniless artists might have gone hungry in the heyday of Montmartre… You don’t have to! The neighbourhood is packed with pastry shops, bakeries, cheese shops — or should we say, small temples to the glory of 100+ varieties of just goat cheese? Not to mention the iconic grocery shop featured in the movie Amélie from Montmartre and arguably the best macaroons in Paris, tucked away in a little quiet street. Gourmet heritage is part of Montmartre’s local culture!