My favorite excursion in the city was to Montmartre, where quaint vine-covered buildings and hilly streets serve as sanctuary for artisans and crafters. No part of the area is immune to the artists’ creativity—strikingly beautiful broken-glass mosaics of animals, graffiti-style sketches and paintings with encouraging messages decorate almost every surface.
Even in a construction area full of equipment, one artist's rendering of a melancholic woman with piercing azure eyes captured my attention from a hundred feet away.
We passed one shop window full of only cat paintings (with occasional cameos by their owners). The artist himself was sitting beside his works, his paints and palettes arranged around him, stroking the shop’s resident black cat—a Parisian still life amidst the bustle of tourists.
Even in a construction area full of equipment, one artist's rendering of a melancholic woman with piercing azure eyes captured my attention from a hundred feet away.
We passed one shop window full of only cat paintings (with occasional cameos by their owners). The artist himself was sitting beside his works, his paints and palettes arranged around him, stroking the shop’s resident black cat—a Parisian still life amidst the bustle of tourists.
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Of course, you can't talk about Montmartre without bringing up "Moulin Rouge" and "Amélie." Both critically acclaimed films have a connection to the neighborhood: the Moulin Rouge cabaret (below)--with its famous red windmill--is one of the first sights you see when you emerge from the Métro, and Montmartre's Café des 2 Moulins is the restaurant where Amélie works in the latter.
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On a whim, we hired a street artist, Jonas, to draw a portrait of us. After finding out we were on our honeymoon, he added a few special touches to our commemorative caricature. Merci, monsieur!
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Looking for gifts? You can find whatever interests you on the streets of Montmartre: ceramic replicas of the famous windmill from the Moulin Rouge cabaret, oil paintings of the Eiffel Tower and other souvenirs.
For about 30 euros a person, a street artist can draw a caricature of you; for a higher price, you can opt for a more realistic portrait. (Don’t want to waste time sitting for one? The artists can work from a photo while you eat or shop.) |
The area is also home to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, with its breathtaking panoramic view of the sprawling city below—and its frequent sightseers snapping Instagram-worthy selfies. Inside the cathedral, the late afternoon sunlight was streaming through the stained-glass windows, casting red, pink and orange kaleidoscope mosaics along the bare stone pillars as some people came to pray and others came to deliberately ignore the "no photo" signs.
