For our first full day in Paris, we decided to go somewhere we’d not managed to on our previous visits to the city, the Montmartre district. Being a large hill with the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur on top of it, it’s a very distinctive district in Paris, visible from many other parts of the city.

Riding to Montmartre

Located in the 18th arrondissement, it wasn’t too far from where we were staying in the 17th, about 40 minutes walk. Though it was a perfect opportunity for me try cycling in the city and test out some of that new infrastructure.

The plan was to meet the others, who’d be getting the Métro to Place d’Anvers, then we’d walk from there. This was a pretty short ride of about 15 minutes, but it was a good way to get a taster as well as figuring out how to use Vélib bikes.

After successfully undocking a bike, I headed off down Avenue de Clichy, which started with just a painted lane, but then got better further down, with some kerb-protected cycle lanes.

I then arrived at Place de Clichy, where there’s a protected cycle lane around the roundabout, but nothing like a typical protected Dutch roundabout. It was a slightly odd configuration that isn’t that easy to follow and didn’t feel that safe, though it was better than nothing.

Carrying on along Boulevard de Clichy, which is wide, with traffic lanes either side of a central tree-lined area for people walking and cycling. The cycle paths along here were pretty good, if a little narrow. Though at junctions, you have to leave the path and rejoin the general traffic lane, which is less than ideal.

After passing the famous Moulin Rouge and carrying along a little further, I arrived at Anvers Métro station, where I docked the bike and found the others.

Walking up to Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

Our first destination after meeting up was to Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, browsing a few gift type shops on the way. This is quite a steep and busy route, with the Sacré-Cœur being a popular tourist destination.

Walking up the hill, you’re rewarded with some spectacular views though, both of the basilica and of Paris. It’s a beautiful church in a stunning setting on top of the hill. It’s not difficult to see why it’s such a popular tourist destination, in a city with a fair share of them.

I think it was Jay Swanson’s guide that recommended going round the back of the Sacré-Cœur, to Parc Marcel Bleustein Blanchet, where you get great views of the basilica in a much more peaceful setting.

Given how busy it was round the front, going round the back seemed like a good idea, so we did that.

Wandering round Montmartre

Once we were done at the Sacré-Cœur, we continued exploring Montmartre over the other side of the hill. After stopping for a photo at the Lamarck – Caulaincourt Métro station, one of the locations from the film Amélie, we continued past the Vigne du Clos Montmartre vineyard and into Cimetière de Saint-Vincent.

If you don’t mind the hills, the quiet narrow streets of Montmartre are really pleasant to walk along, with little details to spot round every corner. As it was now approaching lunchtime, we went off in search for somewhere to get lunch.

Walking along Rue Caulaincourt, we found Mignon Café, which looked interesting, so we stopped there. Sitting out on a decked seating area in what used to be parking spaces, we enjoyed a very tasty and healthy looking lunch.

Lunch done, we continued our wandering, carrying on along Rue Caulaincourt, until we we were almost back round the hill.

Now, no self-respecting fan of Amélie could go to Montmartre, without visiting some of the landmarks made famous by the film. Not wanting to buck the trend, we went off in search of those locations, avoiding another rain shower on the way.

Along our walk, we came across many quiet walkable streets and the odd famous location, such as Le Moulin de la Galette.

Next stop was the grocery shop Au Marché de la Butte, which is known as Maison Collignon in the film and located below Amélie’s fictional apartment. It still looks very much like it does in the film, with the owner keeping the original sign, as well as making the most out of the attention.

We made our way to the Café des Deux Moulins, which has the same name in the film as in real life. In the film, this is where Amélie works and where many of the scenes are located. We decided to do the tourist thing and stop for a drink.

With the interior being the same as what you see in the film, it was a little odd being in what essentially felt like a film set. While my other half and I discussed various scenes set in the bar, our two boys looked on completely nonplussed, having never seen it!

In the café, there’s even a little window display of memorabilia from the film on the way to the toilet, which is also the setting of one of the famous scenes from the film.

After a bit more of a wander, it was time to leave Montmartre for our next destination, a Fat Tire Bike Tour of Paris. More of that in the next post.