Is there a way to find how steep are the stairs to get out of different metro stations? We are staying in Montmarte and several stations are in the area. Are there escalators/elevators at Blanche, Abbesses, Pigalle?

Abbesse has an elevator and it is very very deep. Pigalle has stairs but there are not alot. I suspect Blanche is like Pigalle.

The stairs are steep. I didn't realize how steep until I took my mom to Paris last spring and she absolutely said it was too much to do all of the stairs...and she lives in a two-storey house. So, I rewrote our transporation options and we took the bus. I've been vacationing in Paris, almost annually, for three decades and back in the beginnings I focused a lot on memorizing the bus routes. It's good I did. I'd say go to a bookstore in Paris and buy a bus route map book if the metro stairs will be too much for you. Happy Travels!

Hi K,

Abesses is very deep. It has an elevator, but it's not always working.

I suggest taking the Montmartrobus (no. 18) from Pigalle up to Sacre Coeur.

When I was in September, the Abbesse metro was closed for renovations. Maybe it is open now, but I'd check first.

The best map for visualizing bus routes and streets is here:

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...eur&fm=pdf
(Adobe.com reader required to view.)

The printed version is available free at Métro stations.

I was in Paris last week, took the Métro to Abbesses which was open and foolishly decided to walk up the stairs! That was my exercise for the day. There are a lot of stairs and I am pretty so was surprised at how winded I got. My mother and sister are coming for a visit in May to Paris (I live in CH) and I purposely found an apartment that has bus routes on the same street because I worry about my mother and those Métro stairs.

I meant to say I am pretty fit, although some say I am pretty too!

beaupeep: I made that same mistake last year. Elevator's full--I'll take the stairs! I thought I'd NEVER get to the top. Never again!

N° 18, or Montmartrobus. Alight at Place du Tertre-Norvins for minimum climbing up or down, or ride the full circuit and disembark in front of the basilica:

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...&nompdf=18

(Adobe.com Reader required.)