Montmartre is without any doubt the most visited Parisian district outside of the historical center. The butte (hill), which hosted many artists during the Belle Époque such as Renoir, Van Gogh or Picasso, was also highlighted by the worldwide success of the film Amélie.

But many tourists think their effort to climb the most elevated hill of Paris will be rewarded only with the visit to the Sacré-Coeur (described on Wikipedia, and I approve of this description, as “an embodiment of conservative moral order”), and a quick stroll on the village-like Place du Tertre.

While the most interesting part of Montmartre – also the less visited – is probably the Northern slope, and especially the beautiful rue Cortot (and its extension Rue de l’Abreuvoir) which offers beautiful landscapes made of low-colored houses, climbing plants, and unusual associations of colors, construction materials, and street shapes.

Of course, from the Sacré-Coeur, you’ll have to go down, and thus go up again – what probably scares tourists when they are at the top of Montmartre – but the effort is really worth it. You can continue towards the vineyard of Montmartre and the Lapin Agile cabaret (angle of Rue des Saules and Rue Saint-Vincent), the Place Dalida (dedicated to a famous popular singer who died in 1987) and the Allée des Brouillards, and then go up back by the semi-circular Avenue Junot.