The Charismatic Characters of Montmartre

Montmartre, a city in the city: its mount, its basilica, its two hundred and twenty two steps and its funicular, the artists who are devoted to painting in the Place de Tertre and the cabarets of Pigalle... Greedy, frivolous, generous, the Mount Montmartre abounds with atypical characters. Proclaimed on May 7th, 1921, the Republic of Montmartre remains faithful to its ideals: Cubists, Dadaists, surrealists or futurists meet there and live amongst the average inhabitants in a friendly atmosphere. The spirit of mutual aid and sociability which is characteristic of this places lives on there, like a joyful festival in modernity. Still today, the folklore continues. Whether they are true “Montmartrois” or provincials having migrated to the capital, the outspokenness of the characters that you will meet there make the memories unforgettable. Go encounter the million and one faces that make the Mount of Montmartre so alive, so charming, so authentic…

Montmartre is also the historic district of the artists, the symbol of the bohemian life of Paris. The Cités d’artistes (who the famous Wash-shed) appeared from the end of the XIXth century. Let us continue our walk through the streets of Montmartre ... After the morning coffee in the Fine Mocha, let us venture towards an unusual and warm place. Go back up the street of Three Brothers and up to Rue Tourlaque, near the Montmartre Cemetery. Then, hang to your right on Damrémont Street until you cross the Rue Ordener. Here, situated at number 189, is an impressive building compound of three alcoves. Proud of its 187 artist studios built in 1934 by Adolphe Thiers for the City of Paris, "Montmartre for the artists" is raised up in front of you. Welcome to the heart.

A few minutes away from there, at 112 Championnet Street, you will stumble upon a bar that is unique: the Renaissance. Its retro atmosphere gives her the feeling of a saloon timeless, fanciful and typical of these places which age but never tarnish. The local hangout for the inhabitants of Montmartre but also the theater for numerous shootings, the decoration of The Renaissance inspires as much conviviality as it does fantasy. Michel Deville in 1974 with "Love at the Top” to "Inglorious Basterds" in 2009, to "My New Partner" by Claude Zidi in 1984, the cinema has made its mark on this bar. The current seats and curtains were leftover generously by Quentin Tarantino after the shooting. And know that it is not a coincidence if the American chose this place to shoot one of the cult negotiations in his movie because he had discovered it himself in "The Blood of Others" by Claude Chabrol, shot in this location in 1984 with Jodie Foster and Sam Neil.

Montmartre takes on a number of faces both typical and unusual. On the Place du Tertre, next to the Sacré Coeur, the painters immortalize some of them. It is here, near the Basilica, that Pierre Carré, singer with a banana hairstyle and lively red suit, performs for local residents before going down to Pigalle at nightfall.

The world fame of Montmartre also comes from its cabarets, so it would be good not to forget them. Appearing in the XIXth century, they were bars where you could have a drink while taking in a show during the glory days of the district. Going down to Pigalle, through the historic heart of the 18th district, we cross several of these establishments in which the biggest artists began. ‘L’écurie des Trois Baudets’, born in the 1940s, and situated at 64 boulevard of Clichy, was the prestigious room where Georges Brassens, Raymond Devos or even a certain Jacques Brel were discovered. And while we are speaking about cabarets: since 1889, the red windmills turn every evening in the sky of Montmartre. We suggest you finish the stroll with this key monument of the district or more so, of the capital, this symbol of charm, of dance, frivolity, this temple of the amateur and anonymous night birds : the Moulin Rouge.