Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [93]
Some 234 spiralling steps lead you to the basilica’s dome (admission €5; 9am-7pm Apr-Sep, to 6pm Oct-Mar), which affords one of Paris’ most spectacular panoramas; they say you can see for 30km on a clear day. Weighing in at 19 tonnes, the bell called La Savoyarde in the tower above is the largest in France. The chapel-lined crypt, visited in conjunction with the dome, is huge but not very interesting.
PLACE DU TERTRE Map
Abbesses
Half a block west of Église St-Pierre de Montmartre, which once formed part of a 12th-century Benedictine abbey, is what was once the main square of the village of Montmartre. These days it’s filled with cafés, restaurants, tourists and rather obstinate portrait artists and caricaturists. who will gladly do your likeness. Whether it looks even remotely like you is another matter.
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top picks
MONTMARTRE & PIGALLE
Basilique du Sacré Cœur (left)
Place du Tertre (left)
Musée de la Vie Romantique
Cimetière de Montmartre (below)
Musée de Montmartre
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CIMETIÈRE DE MONTMARTRE Map
8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-6pm Sat, 9am-6pm Sun mid-Mar–early Nov, 8am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5.30pm Sat, 9am-5.30pm Sun early Nov–mid-Mar; Place de Clichy
Established in 1798, this 11-hectare cemetery is perhaps the most celebrated necropolis in Paris after Père Lachaise. It contains the graves of writers Émile Zola, Alexandre Dumas and Stendhal, composers Jacques Offenbach and Hector Berlioz, artist Edgar Degas, film director François Truffaut and dancer Vaslav Nijinsky – among others. The entrance closest to the Butte de Montmartre is at the end of av Rachel, just off blvd de Clichy, or down the stairs from 10 rue Caulaincourt.
Maps showing the location of the tombs are available free from the conservation office ( 01 53 42 36 30; 20 av Rachel, 18e) at the cemetery’s entrance.
MUSÉE DE MONTMARTRE Map
01 49 25 89 39; www.museedemontmartre.fr, in French; 12 rue Cortot, 18e; adult/senior, student & 10-25yr €7/5.50, under 10yr free; 11am-6pm Tue-Sun; Lamarck Caulaincourt
The Montmartre Museum displays paintings, lithographs and documents mostly relating to the area’s rebellious and bohemian/artistic past. It is located in a 17th-century manor house, which is the oldest structure in the quartier, and also stages exhibitions of artists who are still living in the quartier. There’s an excellent bookshop here that also sells small bottles of the wine produced from grapes grown in the Close du Montmartre.
DALÍ ESPACE MONTMARTRE Map
01 42 64 40 10; www.daliparis.com; 11 rue Poulbot, 18e; adult/student & 8-26yr/senior €10/6/7, under 8yr free; 10am-6.30pm; Abbesses
More than 300 works by Salvador Dalí (1904–89), the flamboyant Catalan surrealist printmaker, painter, sculptor and self-promoter, are on display at this surrealist-style basement museum located just west of place du Tertre. The collection includes Dalí’s strange sculptures (most in reproduction), lithographs, many of his illustrations and furniture (including the famous ‘lips’ sofa).
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TRANSPORT: MONTMARTRE & PIGALLE
Bus 85 bus from Mairie du 18e, stop Muller for Montmartre/Sacré Cœur (10 to 15 minutes’ walk!) Bourse, Châtelet; place Pigalle for Montmartrobus through Montmartre from place Pigalle to 18e Mairie on place Jules Joffrin
Metro Abbesses, Anvers, Blanche, Lamarck Caulaincourt, Pigalle
Train The Petit Train de Montmartre ( 01 42 62 24 00; www.promotrain.fr; adult/child 3-12yr €5.50/3.50), a tourist ‘train’ with commentary, runs through Montmartre every 30 minutes or so from 10am or 10.30am to between 6pm and midnight daily, depending on the season
Funicular From square Willette to reach Butte de Montmartre
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