Now when one evokes Montmartre one tends to think of le Sacré coeur (the modern version of Notre Dame, though design-wise nothing like each other...An interesting tidbit about Sacre Coeur is that it gets really white after the rain because water actually starts a chemical reaction producing white color in the stones used to
build this cathedral).Of Monmartre, one also thinks of artists (painters are concentrated here as well as other artists) and of course, Village ! Montmartre does feel like a village with its small streets, neighborhood shops (still there despite the invasion of chain and less neighborly stores) and markets (food or paintings or junks).
Here I would like to give you a tip of a fun way for visiting Montmartre. This is via the public bus called (appropriately) Montmartre Bus. The bus they use for this route is electric and it is way smaller than the regular buses you see in Paris but bigger than minibuses that may be used for tours by tourist companies. The most interesting part of course is the routing. The bus will take you (if you start at Mairie du XVIIIe area, Métro Jules Joffrin) via all the small streets in Montmartre, passing the interesting places that could be found here (including Place Dalida, named after the famed singer that has become an icon of gay French). From the bus, you would be able to have an overview of Paris, circle le Sacre Coeur, worry about whether the bus would make it up the very steep incline of a very small street without scraping the skin of pedestrians already pinning themselves against buildings, or squeeze past between the sidewalk and a parked car.
The passangers of the bus would tend to be a mix between locals and tourists...the locals seem to know the bus drivers and banter with them freely. Best to sit in way in the back to enjoy the view, especially when the bus circle le Sacre Coeur (when you go from Mairie du XVIII to Pigalle)...you will be treated to a wonderful view of Paris including the eye sore Tour Montparnasse way near the Gare Montparnasse in the south (so you do get to see a long way off from here) as well as (quick though) the Eiffel Tower. Of course you could get off here and take the stairway down (or the little metro like funiculaire to go to the Métro station Anvers).
If you decide to get off the bus at Pigalle, you could see my other entry on Pigalle to get oriented...Indeed, the bus route is interesting also because the neighborhoods change as we mosey on the route...from the very mixed not very rich neighborhood to the rich on top of the hill of Montmartre and down to the, some may think, seedy Pigalle. But don't count Pigalle out (or consider it only for sex). Pigalle is cabaret also, night life, Amélie Poulin and all the rest that we associate with the original Paris!
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