If you’re going on a trip to Paris, you should definitely also spend one day in Montmartre.
Montmartre is a charming neighborhood located on a hill with an artistic history. Some of the most famous sights in Paris are located in Montmartre, such as the Sacré-Cœur. There are also a lot of great restaurants and cafes in the neighborhood.
This itinerary is perfect if you want to explore Montmartre in a day. With this itinerary, you’ll see the most famous landmarks, have delicious food at iconic restaurants, see a beautiful view of the city, and do much more!
How To Get Around Montmartre
Montmartre is a very walkable area in Paris, like many other areas in the city, so getting around in the neighborhood is very easy to do on foot.
If you prefer to travel by public transportation, you can use bus 40 which rides through the neighborhood along many of the most iconic places, such as Place du Tertre and La Maison Rose.
Itinerary for One Day in Montmartre
Start With Breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien Lepic or a Boulangerie on Rue Lepic
Location: 31 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris
Let’s start this day by getting breakfast. Throughout the neighborhood, you can find many great breakfast spots.
If you prefer a simple breakfast, you can go to one of the boulangeries in Montmartre to get a pastry, such as a croissant, and a cup of coffee.
I recommend going to the iconic Rue Lepic for this. You can get to this street in an easy way by metro or bus when you go to the Blanche station.
The lower part of this street is home to several great bakeries, as well as other breakfast restaurants.
You can also go to Le Pain Quotidien Lepic, which is a wonderful small breakfast spot with pastries, yogurt, and other options for breakfast.
Walk along Rue des Abbesses
After having breakfast, I recommend walking towards Square Louise Michel, which is a large square in front of the Sacré-Cœur. From Rue Lepic or Le Pain Quotidien Lepic, you will then walk through Rue des Abbesses.
Rue des Abbesses is home to many shops, cafes, and restaurants, and you can see beautiful architecture while walking here. I recommend checking out the different stores and sitting down at a cafe if you see a great one.
A beautiful bistro that you can find in the street is Le Vrai Paris, which is a bistro with beautiful floral decorations.
When you walk through the city, you’ll end up at Place des Abbesses, where you can find the next spot that is worth checking out.
Walk Towards Square Louise Michel and See the Wall of Love
You can see the Wall of Love, which is a must-see during a day in Montmartre, next. This is a large wall that was created in the year 2000. On the wall, you can see the sentence “I love you” written hundreds of times and in more than 200 languages.
From the Wall of Love, you can walk through the Passage de Abbesses to Rue des Trois Frères, which is a narrow street, where you can find lovely coffee shops and bakeries. On this street, you can also find Fotoautomat, which is a popular and pretty vintage photo booth.
When you continue walking along this street toward the east, you’ll end up at an intersection where you can walk along Rue Tardieu to Square Louise Michel.
Climb the Steps of Square Louise Michel or Ride the Funicular
Square Louise Michel is a square with gardens that is located in front of the Sacré-Cœur. At the square, you can also see a carousel.
From the bottom, you can see the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, where you are going next when you use this itinerary.
This square was built around the year 1900 and contains steps that you can climb to get to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. With every step, the view that you can get becomes more impressive.
Instead of climbing the steps, you could also ride the Funicular of Montmartre. This is an automatic funicular that gets you to the top of the hill without having to climb about 200 steps.
RATP runs the funicular, and you can use the same ticket or travel card to ride the funicular. A ride will cost you the same as one metro ride.
After climbing the steps or arriving at the top by riding the funicular it’s time to enjoy the view. From the top, you’ll be able to see the whole city from above, including famous landmarks such as the Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower.
See Art at Place du Tertre
Place du Tertre is a famous square that is located to your left after riding the funicular or climbing the steps. It is just a short walk from the top.
The square used to be part of the Benedictine Montmartre Abbey that dates back to the 12th century. It was opened to the public in 1635 as the central square of Montmartre.
The square is known for its art scene. In the 20th century, many famous painters, such as Picasso, lived in the area.
Nowadays, there are many artists at the square who sell their paintings. It is also possible to get your portrait painted by one of the artists at the square.
Visit the Sacre-Coeur and Admire the View
The Sacré-Cœur Basilica is one of the most iconic landmarks in Paris that you should see if you’re spending one day in Montmartre. Construction for the basilica started in 1875 and it opened in 1914.
The basilica is a Roman Catholic church that has a Neo-Byzantine-Romanesque architectural style.
You can see the inside of the Sacré-Cœur for free, but keep in mind that there can be a long line because it is one of the most popular places in the city.
Instead of going inside and seeing the interior, you can decide to climb the dome of the church. This is a lesser-known activity and the dome is usually open every day. For this activity, you need to climb about 300 steps and the stairs are very narrow, so keep that in mind!
From the top of the basilica, you can enjoy an incredible panoramic view of Paris.
Have Lunch at Le Consulat
Location: 18 Rue Norvins, 75018 Paris
Le Consulat is a historic cafe located in Montmartre and close to Place du Tertre. It is one of the best photo spots in Paris because of its colorful red-and-green front, and the large text with “Le Consulat” in front of it.
The cafe dates back to the 19th century and was a popular place with some of the most famous artists who lived in Montmartre, such as Van Gogh and Monet.
You can enjoy delicious French dishes for lunch at the restaurant with seating options both indoors and outdoors. When you sit outdoors, you can enjoy the hustle and bustle of Montmartre.
For lunch, there area many options, such as a Croque Monsieur or a French onion soup.
Go to Musée de Montmartre or Dalí Paris
After lunch, it can be great to check out one of the museums in Montmartre. There are two great museums that are near Le Consulat. Because you don’t have a lot of time in one day, I recommend choosing the one that sounds most interesting to you.
One of these museums is Dalí Paris. This is a museum that is dedicated to the artist Salvador Dalí.
At the museum, you can see about 300 works of art by the artist, which includes sculptures and engravings. The museum has the largest collection of Salvador Dalí’s works in France.
Besides a permanent exhibition, there are also temporary exhibitions held at Dalí Paris.
The second museum that you could go to is the Musée de Montmartre. This is a museum that is located inside the home of several famous artists, such as Renoir.
At the museum, you can see paintings, posters, photographs, and other objects that relate to Montmartre’s history and culture.
Location: 12 Rue Cortot, 75018 Paris (Musée de Montmartre) and 11 Rue Poulbot, 75018 Paris (Dalí Paris)
See La Maison Rose
Location: 2 Rue de l’Abreuvoir, 75018 Paris
La Maison Rose is one of Montmartre’s most iconic buildings. This is a beautiful pink house that you can also find close to Le Consulat, you can find La Maison Rose just a few meters from the restaurant.
La Maison Rose is a small house that was owned by Ramon Pichot and that used to be his painting studio. Ramon Pichot was a Catalan painter who was friends with both Picasso and Dalí, who both visited him at the house.
Through the years, many singers and artists visited the house.
Nowadays, the house is a restaurant, so you can also have food here if you’re in Montmartre for a day. The restaurant has a small menu with dishes that are made with fresh and seasonal ingredients.
Walk along Rue de l’Abreuvoir
La Maison Rose is located on Rue de l’Abreuvoir. Rue de l’Abreuvoir is one of the oldest and most famous streets in Paris. The street dates back to the 14th century.
After seeing La Maison Rose, I recommend walking along the street while admiring the beautiful architecture of the buildings on the street.
When you are at the end of the street, you can also enjoy a view of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica.
What’s interesting to know about the street as well is that the street was a filming location for the popular Netflix series Emily in Paris. Both La Maison Rose and Rue de l’Abreuvoir featured in the series.
Take a Picture at the Lamarck – Caulaincourt Metro Station
After walking through the street, I recommend turning right and going down the Escaliers de la Rue Girardon. These are stairs, like those which you can find all throughout the neighborhood.
When you walk down the stairs and along Place Constantin Pecqueur, you’ll end up at the beautiful Lamarck-Coulaincourt Metro Station.
When you are on Rue Caulaincourt, you can take a beautiful Parisian picture of a metro sign and beautiful architecture.
Besides that, you could have a drink at one of the cafes on Rue Coulaincourt or Rue Lamarck, such as Chez Ginette when you are here.
Have Dinner at a Restaurant on Place du Tertre
Place du Tertre, the square that is known for the painters and where you already went if you use this itinerary, is home to many great restaurants. While exploring Montmartre in a day, I recommend going to the square and having dinner at one of the restaurants.
For example, you could have dinner at Chez Eugène, which is a restaurant that serves classical French dishes.
There are also many great restaurants in the streets that surround Place du Tertre.
Having dinner at the busiest place of Montmartre can be a great experience to have at night!
See a Show at Théâtre Lepic or Another Theater in Montmartre
Location: 1 Av. Junot, 75018 Paris
After dinner, there are many places that you can go to. For example, there are many theaters in Montmartre where you can see a great show.
One of these theaters is Théâtre Lepic. This is a small theater where you can see amazing shows.
Besides performing arts theaters, there are also many great cinemas in Montmartre.
One of the best ones is Studio 28. This is a very small historic cinema with beautiful decor where you can see unique films that you won’t get to see at other, regular movie theaters. Studio 28 also has a great movie quality and sound system to make your cinema experience great!
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Montmartre in a Day Map
Have a lot of fun during your one day in Montmartre! I hope you liked this itinerary.