A lot of you have already had the unpleasant surprise to find the funiculaire to Sacré Coeur closed since last December, when a cable broke (during an empty test run). Repairs have not even begun yet, due to the lengthy technical report which is not complete, but the RATP is hinting that all be operating again by the month of June.

In the meantime, there is a replacement bus that leaves from the funiculaire stations. You can also take the Montmartrobus, which runs from Pigalle to Jules Joffrin via Sacré Coeur. Or else, if you have not counted them yourselves yet, you can climb the 222 steps that run alongside the funiculaire track.

If I walk up the stairs backwards, will it feel like I'm going downhill?...

We were on it in Feb 2004 going up when the cable snapped, went of the track, or whatever -- scared the poop out of us. Luckily the emergency brake worked although we got a nice jolt -- we climbed out one at a time and walked back down. What a great experience.

We're planning to take the Metro to the "Lamarck" station and walk downhill. Is that cheating?

We were among the unpleasantly surprised. We walked up the steps. Not bad, and very nice views.

Lamarck is higher than Abbesses (I think), but it will still be a climb to Sacré Coeur.

They were talking about the funicular being back in service by June. Gues not.

I always thought that having just one cable to raise the cars was a bad idea, and I was surprised to see it implemented that way. Perhaps they'll do it right before they open it back up again.

There is still a considerable uphill walk from Lamarck metro station.

Sacre Coeur is on top of a hill.

If you have a map of Paris detailed enough to show all the stairs, you can minimize your climb with Montmartrobus.

An easy walk is up the rue Houdon from the Pigalle station, then along the rue des Abbesses and the twisty rue Lepic up to the top of the butte. The end of the rue Lepic is right in the middle of the touristy area up on top, and the walk includes no steps (although it's obviously uphill).

I am a big fan of the winding rue Lepic. You will even pass the café from Amélie shortly after leaving from Place Blanche, if you start right at the beginning.

kerouac, thanks for posting. Personally, I'm a big fan of the Montmartrobus; glad to see you suggested that as an alternative!

I'm in Paris right now and planning to go to Montmartre on Saturday. Is the funicular still not operational? (I'm guessing it's not, but I'm in denial.) I have knee problems. Is there an easier walk, or climb up the hill?

Just use the replacement bus.

Kerouac:

If I plug into the RAPT site, will it give me the info I need for the bus?

First time we were in Paris we walked to the top, must have been on rue Lepic as descibed above. It was a great walk. We didn't even know there was another way up until after we returned.

Same as Sandi. We didn't know about going up the steps, and instead had a nice walk up. We took the funiculaire down and it was enjoyable. We will be back in a couple weeks and plan on walking again.

Having taken the funiculaire on previous trips, my DH and I were not prepared to walk those steps while there in February. Luckily, the Montmartrobus was handy and we really liked the view on the way down (past the vineyards, which we'd somehow always missed when wandering the area.)

In April, when we were there with our two grown children and two pre-teen grandsons, it was a school holiday and the entire continent was heading up to Montmartre . Buses were few and far between so we walked. And walked. And walked. It was NOT pleasant, but it sure did feel good to accomplish that in front of the "youngsters!"