Montmartre, or La Butte as the locals call it, is a large hill in the north of the City in the 18th. It is best reached using Metro Line 12 from Concorde, (if you are in the centre), to Abbesses or, if you prefer, change at Pigalles the stop before and take Line 2 to Anvers and let the Funiculaire take you up the hill to the Sacre-Couer.

Literally the Martyr’s Mound after St.Denis, the first Bishop of Lutetia as Paris was known in Gallo-Roman times, was beheaded here. Legend has it that he picked up his head and walked to the place now called St-Denis just north of the City where there is now a magnificent Gothic Cathedral.

Montmartre is well known as a haven for artists. Perhaps the most well known are Toulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Pierre-Auguste Renoir who all worked here in the late 19th century. In addition it is a well established night club district which boasts the world famous Moulin Rouge associated with the Can-Can and dancers like Jane Avril who was immortalised in paint by Toulouse-Lautrec.