A Day in Montmartre

It was sunny 10 days ago and Sande and Jenny had just left. Kate decided it was the perfect day to go to Montmarte to see Sacré Cœur and the artists. We also wanted to go to the Musée Montmartre.  Neither of us had been there before.

The transit strike was still causing problems. Even when the métro is running consistently and all stations are open it is hard to get to Montmartre from our apartment. So Kate found a bus we could take that would drop us off on the back side of Montmartre.

All was going according to plan until about 2 stops before we were to get off.  Suddenly the bus sped up and wasn't stopping. An elderly man with a cane in the back by the exit door starting yelling at the driver that he wanted to get off. But the driver was a man on a mission and was not going to stop for anyone or anything. We ended up at the end of the line by the town hall for the 18th arrondissement. We had no choice but to start walking.

First we passed a very old building which we later discovered was what remained of an old porcelain factory. There used to be many factories and windmills on Montmartre.

It didn't take long before we saw that the road ended and there were a lot of stairs in front of us. We started climbing.

Looking down from the first set of Stairs

What I didn't realize and what Kate was careful not to point out was that there were more stairs to come.

Pausing before the next staircase

Conquering more stairs

The stairs just kept going on and on!

Kate, who lives on the 5th floor of a walk up in New York, is a pro at stairs. She was kind enough to carry my Zabars bag for me. The view once we made it to the top was amazing.

Ready for more stairs

The Long Climb

The museum is in the oldest building in Montmartre, built in the 1600s. There are several buildings that make up the museum with the Renoir gardens in the middle and other gardens behind. During its heyday, 12 rue Cortot served as a residence and meeting place for many artists including Auguste Renoir and Suzanne Valadon (the mother of Maurice Utrillo), who both had studios there. Renoir painted Bal du Moulin de la Galette in the gardens.

View of the Museum from the Gardens

We found a cherry tree blossoming in the gardens--in the middle of January!

Blossoming Cherry

Oldest Building in Montmartre
12 rue Cortot

Entry to more gardens

View of Sacré Cœur Tower from Gardens

Through the archway in the picture above  is a swing. Renoir painted La Balançoire (The Swing) here. This would be a lovely place to visit in warmer months and eat at the café in the garden.

Kate on the Swing

La Balançoire

Behind 12 rue Cortot was another garden with a view of a vineyard below. This really is a beautiful area of Paris, even in January.

Vineyard 

The museum includes paintings, posters and drawings by Toulouse-Lautrec, Modigliani, Valadon and Utrillo, among others, and tells the history of Montmartre and the cabarets and life on Montmartre.

It also includes a restoration of Suzanne Valadon's apartment and studio.

Valadon's Apartment

Portrait of Maurice Utrillo
by his mother Suzanne Valadon

Maurice Utrillo's Bedroom

Valadon's studio was very cool with a view out over the Renoir Gardens.

Valadon's Studio

Studio Windows Looking out
on the Garden

Kate in the Studio

We walked over towards Place du Tertre to see the artists and have some gelato at our favorite place, but unfortunately it is closed in January. I guess too few tourists want gelato in the dead of winter. At least we can get our fix at the Amorino on the rue Cler.

Place du Tertre

Ready for a Game of Chess

This is a nice time of year to be up by Sacré Cœur when it is not packed with tourists.
We walked around to the front of Sacré Cœur, passing a man on the accordion playing La Vie en Rose, our favorite.

Sacré Cœur

We had a beautiful view of Paris from the church and then walked down to the métro. I didn't feel quite so bad about having to climb all those stairs up to the museum when I saw the funicular was closed because of the strike. Although there are definitely more stairs behind Sacré Cœur than in front.

View from Sacré Cœur

View of Sacré Cœur from the street below

It was a perfect day in Montmartre with Kate.