Montmartre Windmill Tour

During the Marais tour when Florent, our guide, was asked which was his favorite tour, he said the Marais tour we were on, and the Montmartre Tour is also a favorite. When most people think of Montmartre, Sacre Coeur Basilica comes to mind. The area was made famous in the movie Amelie, Don's favorite movie that was turned into a so-so Broadway show and for the artists who used to live there, including Picasso and Van Gogh.

When I arrived at the Blanche metro station (named because the area was white (blanche in French) due to the stones carried to make plaster) for the 5 PM tour I found not one, but two hot pink vested guides: Florent and Matthieu. We were divided into two groups and I stuck with Florent. He noted the giant windmill in front of the Moulin Rouge was spinning, therefore it must be nighttime already. We still had about 90 minutes of daylight.

The artists took over the area in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Life was cheaper in this area at the time. It wasn't part of Paris proper until 1860, a distinction they still maintain in their hearts. Twenty villages combined to make Paris (today there are 20 arrondisments, not sure if the numbers are a coincidence). Paris was surrounded by a wall. Montmartre was outside the wall, and therefore did not have to pay taxes. If you look at a current metro map, from 1783-1860 Paris was divided roughly around Line 2 and Line 6 of the metro.

Being situated on a hill, the area was famous for its windmills. Windmills were

used to crush grapes, wheat, and stones. The Moulin Rouge literally means the Red Windmill (French and English put the descriptive words in the opposite order, the Windmill Red, if you prefer). In the day they had a concert and ball every night. It opened in 1889 and was the first electrified building in Paris. All of their shows start with the letter F, it is a superstition. The current show is Feerie (Fairy). Today their shows are between Broadway and Vegas in style. 

The second windmill on the tour was Le Deux Moulins (the two windmills), the scene of much of the action in the movie Amelie. It was filmed here. Had Don been with me I would have gone in and ordered a tea, but instead after the tour I pressed on with my day.

Florent points out some street art on a building. "Two days ago they painted over a Coca-Cola ad." Graffiti is not allowed in Paris, but "art that takes awhile to make is okay." I seem to recall him mentioning another rule where if owners complain about street art within two days, the city will clean it off for free. 

We passed the spot where Vincent Van Gogh lived from 1886 to 1888. It is mighty unassuming today. We also passed a classic 2 HP Citroen, which reminded me of the Trabi cars we saw in Berlin. Brought back memories of when I lived there in the 1990's and there were more of them.

As with most Discover Walk tours, we passed an award winning eatery, this time Le Grenier a Pain, a baguette shop that won the Savoir Faire de Qualite award in 2010 and 2015, meaning they were chosen as the best baguette shop in all of Paris and delivered fresh baguettes to the French president daily. Unlike Marie, we did not all go in and get baguettes (though at least one person did). The croissant is actually of Austrian origin and not French origin. The pastry was created in the shape of a crescent (the symbol of Turkey) to represent their victory over Turkey in the Siege of Vienna.

We were told the best free place to get a nice view of Paris is the eighth floor of Galleries Lafayette. Tuck that away for next time since I did not visit that part of Paris on this trip.

Le Bateau Lavoir (the Laundry Boat) is next door to where the famous Impressionist and Cubists artists had their studios. Picasso's studio burned down. The remaining ateliers around the corner on rue d'Orchampt have large windows in the roof to allow for extra sunlight. They face the north side to provide the most stable lighting. 

Across the street is another Wallace Fountain (as seen on the Left Bank Tour I took the day before). Wallace had them installed in 1872, one year after the Franco-Prussian War when Parisians were besieged by the Prussians for five months and the Prussians destroyed the aqueducts. By the end of the war wine was cheaper than water. Sir Richard Wallace had 60 fountains installed to ensure Parisians would always have water. The shape of the fountain prevents horses and dogs from being able to drink out of them. They are still viable fountains, and part of Parisian culture. 

On the same street is where Dalida lived. Before this tour, I had not heard about Dalida, but she is a very famous singer from Egypt who lived in Montmartre for the last 25 years of her life and is a highlight of the tour. Tradition has it if you rub the statue of Dalida you will have good luck. I can't believe I did not take a picture of her statue. HERE is a link to it. Yes, I did rub her, but I'm not sure I can attribute anything to her as good luck, like I could with rubbing the toe of the statue in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Moulin de la Galette is the third windmill (moulin) on this tour. It is a restaurant that was habituated by famous Impressionist painters, including Renoir who painted the Bal du Moulin de la Galette based on this business. It is believed a smaller version of this painting in a private collection in Switzerland. The original is in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.

The windmill was a symbol of Paris.

Our tour led us to a park where boules were being played. Inside the park is a statue of a headless man, St. Denis. St. Denis was beheaded in 257 AD. After he was killed he picked up his head and ran with it for about five kilometers (3.1 miles) up the hill now known as Montmartre (the hill of martyrs). I learned about him again the next day on my tour of Notre Dame Cathedral because he is immortalized there, too.

The pink house is La Maison Rose. The house didn't used to be pink, but an Impressionist artist painted it in pink in his art and people kept asking about it. Finally the owner relented and painted his restaurant pink.

Across the street is a vineyard. In the late 1800's the hill was covered in grapevines, today there is only a small vineyard with great northern exposure.

In the same area is Au Lapin Agile, the agile rabbit, a famous cabaret that opened in 1860 and is still in operation as the smallest cabaret in Paris. It is on a list of the 1,000 Places You Should See Before You Die. I just requested the book from the library to see how I am doing. In its heyday Picasso, Louis Armstrong, and Einstein all went there. Sometimes artists could not afford their bills and paid in paintings, some of which are worth quite a lot today.

Around the corner is a jungle. A literal jungle. Gardeners are forbidden from entering this wild zone. The city of Paris bought the Saint Vincent Wild Garden and left it as a sauvage jardin for the wildlife to enjoy. It is open to the public and there are guided tours from April 1 through October 31.

From there we ended up at the back side of Sacre Coeur, the quiet side mostly only frequented by locals. Though our entire tour was uphill, it did not seem onerous because instead of taking the giant stairs in the front, we meandered through the area pausing to look at hidden treasures as identified by our local tour guide (one of the specialties of this tour group).

Sacre Coeur, like most churches in Paris, is free and open to the public. Inside this Byzantine-style church the largest mosaic in France. It reminded me of our trip to St. Petersburg and our tour of the Church of the Spilled Blood. I read the material they used to create the church is self-cleaning so unlike many other monuments, this one will always stay white. Though Sacre Coeur is an iconic image of Paris, it is only 99 years old today (consecrated on October 16, 1919). It costs six euros to climb to the top. It was a sunny day, nearing sunset, so I paid the admission price and climbed the dome. There were only a few people doing the same, just enough that I could find people to take pictures of me, but not so many they were in my way.

Inside is a 19-ton bell that took dozens of horses to carry to the top of the hill.

After my climb I descended using the stairs made famous in Amelie. I passed a fruit stand and thought of the character Lucien who works for his father's produce stand. I then strolled through Places des Tertres where the artists sell their paintings. Ashley is a fabulous artist whose work is adorning our walls, so I did not purchase any artwork on this trip. The square felt smaller and filled with more restaurants than I remember from my 1989 trip before I met Don. 

I passed Les Deux Moulins again, hopped on the metro, and went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Paris where I did not purchase a thing. Amazing how Hard Rock Cafe merchandise tends to look the same the world over. I'm happy with my shirt from St. Petersburg.

Here are some images from inside Sacre Coeur and the views climbing up to and through the dome.

Another Space Invader

Place des Tertres