Paris of the Artists: Montmartre and Pigalle by electric bike, in a small group

Four hours to climb the hill of studios and cabarets, from the boulevard de Clichy to the Clos Montmartre vineyard, with a guide who knows the stories behind the façades. The electric assist takes care of the slopes, and the steepest stretch is done on foot, with the bikes parked at the bottom.

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Montmartre tops out at 130 metres. That is nothing on a map and a great deal in the legs: the hill is climbed through narrow streets and stairways, and walking up from the city centre eats most of a morning. The pedal-assist electric bike solves the problem another way. You reach Pigalle without effort, ride up the boulevard de Clichy past its old music halls and the photographers' studios that lived off portraits of performers, then the bikes stay at the bottom of the rue Lepic. The climb itself is done on foot, at an easy pace, because the lanes up there were never made for riding.

In fifteen years or so, this hill produced a good share of modern art, and it did so in badly heated wooden shacks. It also had a taste for mischief. On 8 March 1910 the writer Roland Dorgelès, out to mock avant-garde painting, borrowed Lolo, the donkey of père Frédé, who ran one of the cabarets on the hill, tied a paintbrush to its tail and let the animal sweep the canvas every time it was offered a carrot. The painting, titled Et le soleil s'endormit sur l'Adriatique, went to the Salon des Indépendants signed Joachim-Raphaël Boronali, an anagram of Aliboron, the traditional French name for a donkey: accepted, noticed, sold for four hundred francs. Dorgelès revealed the hoax himself in the press once the sale was done.

The tour starts in the 7th arrondissement, where you are fitted to a Tern pedal-assist bike, helmet included, with a few minutes to get the feel of it before we set off, and it comes back to the same point, where the bikes are handed back. You need to be able to ride a bicycle and to be comfortable in Paris traffic: the route uses streets open to traffic, and your guide sets the pace on the group. Five participants at most per accompanying guide; beyond five, we may be able to run a second simultaneous group, subject to our availability, at the same rate, and we confirm that to you in writing. Bring comfortable shoes and water, since the crossing of the hill is on foot and the slope is real. The exact route is adjusted on the day to suit the weather, the crowds and traffic conditions.

On this ride

Paris of the Artists: Montmartre and Pigalle by electric bike, in a small group

Place Blanche and place Pigalle

From the 1880s onwards, the foot of the hill became the district of popular entertainment: music halls, dance halls, cabarets, costume dealers. Toulouse-Lautrec spent his nights here sketching the dancers, and the most famous of them, Louise Weber, known as La Goulue, queen of the cancan in the 1890s, died ruined and forgotten in 1929 at the Lariboisière hospital. Her remains were moved to the Montmartre cemetery in 1992 at her family's request. The story is told from the pavement: no admission, no show and no refreshment are included in the tour.

Boulevard de Clichy and boulevard de Rochechouart

The two boulevards formed the great corridor of Parisian entertainment, and most of their halls are gone. The Cirque Fernando, opened in 1875 and later renamed Cirque Medrano, stood at 63 boulevard de Rochechouart, on the corner of the rue des Martyrs: Degas, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec came to draw the performers in the ring. It closed in 1963 and was pulled down in November 1972. You ride up these boulevards in the saddle, reading the façades like an old poster.

Rue Lepic and the Blute-fin and Radet windmills

Bikes parked at the bottom, the rue Lepic is walked up, the street the cinema made familiar around the world in 2001. At the top stand the last two of the thirty-odd windmills the hill once carried: the Blute-fin, raised in 1622, and the Radet, from 1717, both listed as historic monuments since 1958. Millers turned them into dance gardens in the early nineteenth century, and it is that Sunday ball Renoir painted in 1876. The windmills stand on private land: we look at them from the street, with no visit. Count a good half hour of walking, uphill.

Place Émile-Goudeau and the Bateau-Lavoir

A building of wood and glass, with no running water, no electricity and a single tap for all the studios: this is where Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907, surrounded by Modigliani, Apollinaire, Max Jacob and Juan Gris. A fire in May 1970 left only the façade standing. The building was rebuilt in concrete in 1978 by the architect Claude Charpentier, identical on the square side; it belongs to the City of Paris and now holds twenty-five artists' studios, which are not open to visitors. The square itself, its fountain and its benches have not moved.

The Clos Montmartre and the Saint-Vincent cemetery

On the northern slope, between the rue des Saules and the rue Saint-Vincent, the City of Paris tends 1,762 vines and some thirty grape varieties, replanted in the 1930s on a slope that had carried vineyards since the Middle Ages. It is the oldest and the most productive of the city's five municipal vineyards, alongside Belleville, Bercy, the parc Georges-Brassens and the Butte Bergeyre. The harvest is auctioned in the autumn for the social works of the 18th arrondissement. Its reputation has raised smiles since the seventeenth century, when a Parisian saying already mocked the mainly diuretic virtues of the vintage. The plot is fenced and cannot be visited freely: we look at it from the street, and no tasting is included. Opposite, the small Saint-Vincent cemetery holds the grave of Maurice Utrillo, who died in 1955 and painted these streets all his life.

Rue des Saules and the Sacré-Cœur forecourt

The rue des Saules drops between the vines and climbs again towards the top of the hill, through the setting of the cabarets where Picasso and Modigliani turned up at all hours in the early 1900s. Higher up, the forecourt of the Sacré-Cœur opens a wide panorama towards the south of the city: the basilica is built of a limestone that whitens in the rain, and its bell, the Savoyarde, 18,835 kilos cast in Haute-Savoie in 1891, reached the hill on 16 October 1895, hauled by twenty-eight horses. It is still the largest bell in France. The story is told from the forecourt, with no access to the dome or the interior.

Montmartre cemetery

The cemetery sits in a former gypsum quarry, in a hollow crossed overhead by the rue Caulaincourt bridge, above the graves; you go in below, from the avenue Rachel, during the opening hours set by the City of Paris. Dalida rests in section 18, under a life-size statue by Aslan, François Truffaut in section 21, Hector Berlioz in section 20 and the poet Heinrich Heine in section 27. Émile Zola's grave, in section 19, has stood empty since his ashes were moved to the Panthéon in 1908, kept for the memory. La Goulue eventually came back here. If the cemetery is closed, this stop is replaced.

Practical details
Duration
About 4 hours, including the ride out from the 7th arrondissement and back and the stops; indicative duration, confirmed in writing when you book
Level
Easy on the bike, the assist flattens the slopes: 12 to 15 km including the ride out from the 7th and back, on streets open to traffic. 1.5 to 2 km on foot on the hill, including a steady climb and stairways, comfortable shoes advised. This route is not suitable for people with reduced mobility.
Meeting point
Paris, 7th arrondissement, returning to the same point where the bikes are handed back; the exact meeting point is confirmed in writing when you book
Group
Five participants at most per accompanying guide. Beyond five, we may be able to run a second simultaneous group, subject to our availability, at the same rate; we confirm that to you in writing.
Languages
French or English, tell us which in your request

Booking is a request, not a firm reservation: we confirm feasibility, date, meeting point and the final price in writing before any payment. Prices are indicative, per person, all taxes included, and cover the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet. No entrance fees and no indoor visits are included: the stories are told from the street, the forecourt or the bridge.

Frequently asked questions about this ride

Do I need to be fit for this tour?

The electric assist takes care of the distances and the climbs, and we take a few minutes at the start to get you comfortable on the bike. You do need to be able to ride a bicycle and to be at ease in Paris traffic, because the route uses streets open to traffic. The real effort is the section on foot on the hill, 1.5 to 2 km with a steady climb and stairways: bring comfortable shoes and water. This route is not suitable for people with reduced mobility. Your guide matches the pace to the group and the stops are regular.

Do we ride through the lanes of Montmartre?

No, and that is deliberate: the streets up there are narrow, cobbled and broken up by stairways. The bikes stay parked at the bottom and the upper part of the route is on foot, which leaves all the time in the world to look and listen. You pick the bikes up again for the way down and the ride back to the 7th.

Which day should I choose?

We favour weekdays and morning slots: Montmartre is very busy on summer weekends. Give us your possible dates in the form and we will suggest a slot. The exact route is then adjusted on the day to suit the weather, the crowds and the traffic, and a stop may be replaced if a site is closed.

How much is this tour and how do I book?

Indicative prices, all taxes included: 75 euros per person on a shared tour and 95 euros per person on a private tour, electric bike and helmet included. Your request is not a firm booking: we confirm the date, the meeting point and the final price in writing before any payment. No paid admission, no indoor visit and no refreshment are included in the price; the stories are told from the street, the pavement or the forecourt.

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Request a booking

Booking is a request, not a firm reservation: we confirm feasibility, date, meeting point and the final price in writing before any payment. Prices are indicative, per person, all taxes included, and cover the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet. No entrance fees and no indoor visits are included: the stories are told from the street, the forecourt or the bridge.

Request a booking