jparis

ok, I have been to Paris 10 times, lived there 6 months and have never been to Montmartre. This next trip is it!! Can anyone direct me as to where to start, what route to follow, and what sites not to miss. I have always avoided it as I thought it would be too "touristy", but "Amelie" has piqued my interest. I have been studying maps and I am not exactly sure how to do it. Is it one of those neighborhoods where you just walk around and you'll "hit" everything, or is the idea just to "be there and soak it up"...thanks a lot

wes fowler

Jeryl,<BR>See if your library or bookstores have a copy of Paris Les Guides Bleu (it's in English)published by Prentiss-Hall.<BR>The guide devotes about 24 pages to a walking tour of Montmartre. It covers most of the streets and alleys where the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists lived and worked, as well as the writers, poets and journalists with whom they fraternized.

jparis

Wes: <BR>Thanks for the tip. To tell you the truth, I was hoping for some experts to give me about a paragraph of help that I could just print out and carry with me in my pocketbook rather than carrying a guide book (Am I being too lazy?). By the way, where do guys carry their guide book?? (Back pack I guess)....

Christina

yeah, you're being too lazy. There are smaller guidebooks that have walking tours of Montmartre, or you can copy those particular pages and just take them with you on that day. The Michelin Green guide has info on Montmartre. This is a very brief route I might follow but I'm not going to look up all the points of interest and describe them for you: I'd get off at Lamarck Caulaincourt mero stop, walk down ave Junot and go over to Sacre Coeur (visiting the Montmartre museum on the way), see stuff around the church and then walk west hitting rue Lepic, maybe see the cemetery, and walk back down rue des Abbesses maybe. If you lived there 6 months and are only interested in it due to that sanitized, unrealistic movie, I think it's hopeless.

Jayelle

The Lonely Planet Condensed Paris guide provides a number of walks, including one of Monmartre, that are each just 1 page and provide a map and brief description. Its something that you could easily copy and take with you. Because its so short though, don't expect a lot of real background information on the points of interest included in the walk. You'll need a more detailed guide book for that.

Capo

The first couple times I went to Montmartre, I approached it from the southern side, as I'd bet most people do. However, on a trip a few years ago, I took a bus to the northern side, approached it that way, and really liked it because it seemed like "the road less traveled." Coming from that direction, I passed a lovely little square and then the Lapin Agile cabaret, which is right across the street from (I believe) Montmartre's only surviving vineyard. From there, I made my way up to Sacre Coeur. <BR><BR>I just found this person's website where he/she talks about the "Paris Walks" tour of Montmartre. Check it out for the tres cool statue at the Place Marcel Aym&eacute;; that's definitely on my list for my next visit. <BR><BR>http://dss.editthispage.com/2001/03/25

jparis

Thanks for the advice and you are right, that statue was very cool...will definitely look for it...<BR>I realize that Amelie was very sanitized (aren't all movies) but it was just a reminder that I needed to check out that part of Paris I seemed to have missed. I appreciate letting me know which metro stop to take and I'll just wander along the recommended paths...

pasamelie

Thirza Vallois' Around and About Paris, Volume Three has an excellent walking tour of Montmartre.<BR><BR>We just xerox the relevant pages instead of carrying the entire book.

elvira

I used this site for a walking tour of the area, with a few odd bits thrown in from magazine articles and TV shows:<BR>http://www.parisbalades.com/Cadres/c...montmartre.htm <BR><BR>

jparis

Elvira:<BR>That's a great site - however, your French must be a lot better than mine. Do you know how I could translate it??? Thanks again for your help...

elvira

erp - you could cut and paste the text into a translating website, and get a very silly translation.<BR><BR>Or, I can email you my version of it in English (an even sillier translation). Is the post showing your real email address? if not, email me at mine.

Debbie

I can in no way vouch for these walking tours, but found three, including one of Montmartre at this site:<BR>http://www.all-paris-hotels.com/explore.htm<BR>Could someone with local knowledge comment on them? Thanks.

elle

The Montmartre tour on that site seems to be lifted from Vallois' book.<BR><BR>The other two--quartier Latin and Marais--seem more original.<BR>

jparis

Debbie - thanks so much for the website - that is EXACTLY what I was hoping to get.

dfc

jparis -- if you want a quick something to print out to carry, Frommers (who of course we don't usually mention here) has a map for the walking tour at http://www.frommers.com/images/desti...montmartre.jpg. (Of course, their guidebook has the text but you didn't want a book.)

dfc

And now that I spend another 30 seconds with Google, the next entry shows me that the text is also on their website at http://www.frommers.com/destinations...0062020033.cfm

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wendy

Go to the place de tertre, and find the 'syndicat' and ask for Sandra, she speaks beautiful english and can give you a map with great history for a self walk or a small tour... it is the real Montmartre!<BR><BR>~wendy~