Arrondissement N18

Montmartre



Montmartre is a hill 130 metres high, in the north of Paris, a part of the Right Bank, primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacre C?ur on its summit and as a nightclub district.

Many artists had studios or worked around the community of Montmartre such as Salvador Dali, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.

Montmartre is an officially designated historic district with limited development allowed in order to maintain its historic character.

Downhill to the southwest is the red-light district of Pigalle. That area is, today, largely known for a wide variety of sex shops and prostitutes. It also contains a great number of stores specializing in instruments for rock music. There are also several concert halls, also used for rock music.

Moulin Rouge



Moulin Rouge (French for Red Mill or windmill) is a traditional cabaret, built in 1889 by Joseph Oller, who already owned the Paris Olympia. Situated in the red-light district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy, near Montmartre, it is recognized by the large red imitation windmill on its roof.

Over the past hundred years, the Moulin Rouge has remained a popular tourist destination, offering musical dance entertainment for adult visitors from around the world. Much of the romance from turn-of-the-century France is still present in the club's decor.

Official web site: www.moulinrouge.fr

La basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Jesus



The Sacré-Coeur Basilica (Basilique du Sacre-Cæur, «Basilica of the Sacred Heart») is a Roman Catholic basilica and popular landmark in Paris, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city.

The original idea of constructing a church dedicated to the Sacred Heart, with its origins in the aftermath of the French Revolution among ultra-Catholics and legitimist royalists, developed more widely in France after the Franco-Prussian War and the ensuing radical Paris Commune of 1870-71.

In 1873 the city council of Paris voted a law of public utility to seize land at the summit of Montmartre for the construction of the basilica. Architect Paul Abadie designed the basilica after winning a competition over 77 other architects. The foundation stone was finally laid 16 June 1875. Abadie died not long after the foundation had been laid, in 1884, and other architects continued with the work. The Basilica was not completed until 1914, when war intervened. The basilica was formally dedicated in 1919, after World War I, when its national symbolism had shifted.

A mosaic in the apse, entitled Christ in Majesty, is among the largest in the world. The basilica complex includes a garden for meditation, with a fountain. The top of the dome is open to tourists and affords a spectacular panoramic view of the city of Paris, which is mostly to the south of the basilica.