in short
- What's there: The Sacré-Cœur, the Montmartre Museum, the Dali Museum, Au Lapin Agile and the cemetery.
- Location: Northern Paris, from the hill to the city gates in the north.
- What to know in advance: Tartar Square is crowded in the middle of the day, recommended before nine or after seven in the evening.
- Food markets: Five, including the Barbes Market with the cheapest prices in the city.
- Restaurants: Five recommendations, all on the side streets and not on the hill.
- Who is it for: For those looking for art, views and food at reasonable prices.
- Itineraries: Four take place in the district, and three more pass through it. The highest number on the site.
The 18th arrondissement is Montmartre, and it is the only arrondissement in Paris where the name of the neighborhood is better known than the arrondissement number itself. What most visitors don't know is that Montmartre is just the hill, and that an entire arrondissement extends around it.
So on this page I'm compiling the district's attractions, restaurants, and markets in full, including five food markets that no tourist visits. For those looking to explore the hill itself in depth, I have a separate page dedicated to Montmartre.
Just before we get going, let's talk about what you'll find here: first the hotels and apartments I recommend in the district, then the attractions one by one, the five restaurants I send people to, the food markets with the days and hours, and finally the itineraries.
Recommended hotels in the 18th arrondissement of Paris
Sleeping in Montmartre is a completely different experience than sleeping in the center, and you should know that most of the hotels here are on a slope. If you're not sure what's right for you, answer three questions and I'll choose from my recommendations:
My personal recommendation
Which hotel in the 18th arrondissement is right for you?
One short question, and I'll filter for you from the accommodations I've already checked and written about on the site what's suitable for the vacation you're planning.
Just a moment, I'll go through my recommendations and look for what suits you...
Prefer to go through all the recommendations yourself, with photos and details about each hotel? Go to my recommended hotels in the 18th arrondissement page.
Recommended apartments in the 18th arrondissement of Paris
Montmartre is one of the best places in Paris to rent an apartment, because the neighborhood remains a residential neighborhood even after the tourists descend from the hill. Here too, you can let me choose:
My personal recommendation
Which apartment in the 18th district is right for you?
One question about the area, and I'm sifting through the apartments I've reviewed and written about on the site. Up until now, I've recommended Udi's apartments directly here, but they're snapped up very quickly, so I've also included some great apartments from Booking.com that I handpicked for my readers.
Just a moment, I'll go through my recommendations and look for what suits you...
Want to go through all the apartments I recommend, with photos and details? Go to my recommended apartments in the 18th arrondissement page.
Attractions and museums in the 18nd arrondissement of Paris
These are the sites I recommend in the 18th arrondissement, and two of them have free admission.
-
Free entrance
Sacré-Cœur
The church on the hill, and the second highest point in Paris.
The church was built after the defeat in the 1870 war and after the Commune, and from the beginning it was a political act: atonement for what Catholics saw as the sins of France. The stone with which it is built whitens itself when it rains, which is why the church remains white. Access to the dome is by foot and stairs only, and from there you can see all of Paris.
-
My recommendation
Montmartre Museum (Musée de Montmartre)
The old house on the hill, and the gardens behind it that Renoir painted.
Renoir, Waldon, Suzanne Waldon and their son Autryau lived in this house. What makes this museum special to me is not the collection but the gardens: three restored gardens where Renoir painted, with a swing and a view of the Montmartre vineyard. A completely quiet place twenty meters from the hustle and bustle.
-
Free entrance
Montmartre Cemetery
The cemetery under the bridge, which also houses Chibollen, Degas, and Nijinsky.
It is the third largest in Paris after Père Lachaise and Montparnasse, and it was built in an abandoned quarry below street level. The Rochechouart Bridge passes over it, so anyone going to Montmartre passes over it without noticing. The Goncourt brothers and Emile Zola, both of whom I have written about separately, are also buried there.
-
Works with children
Dalí Museum (Dalí Paris)
A collection of Dali sculptures and etchings, minutes from Tartar Square.
The museum focuses on sculptures and engravings rather than paintings, which is precisely what makes it interesting for children: the melting clocks, the lip-shaped sofa, and the elephant on long legs. The museum is small and the visit takes about an hour, and it is minutes away from Tartar Square and the Skara Ker.
-
Old Cabaret
At the Agile Rabbit
The oldest cabaret in Paris that is still operating, without microphones and without photography.
The place has been open since 1860 and was home to Picasso, Apollinaire, Verlaine and Modigliani. Picasso painted a picture for him in exchange for meals, and it sold for a huge sum a few decades later. The show is French poetry with a piano in a tiny hall, and the audience joins in. If you don't understand French, it still works, but less so.
Other attractions in the 18th District worth exploring
These are places that I haven't written a separate article about yet, but if you're walking around the neighborhood it's worth knowing that they're there:
| the place | Address | Why stop there? |
|---|---|---|
| Place du Tertre | Place du tertre | Montmartre's Painters' Square. It is recommended to arrive before nine in the morning or after seven in the evening. |
| The Wall of Love (Le Mur des Je t'aime) | Square Jehan Rictus, place des Abbesses | A wall with “I love you” in two hundred and thirty-four languages, including Hebrew |
| Moulin de la Galette | 83 rue Lepic | One of the two remaining mills from the thirties, and Renoir painted it |
| Moulin Rouge | 82 Boulevard de Clichy | The world-famous cabaret, in a place that hasn't moved since 1889. Details inThe shows and cabarets page |
| Montmartre Vineyard (Clos Montmartre) | Corner of rue des Saules and rue Saint-Vincent | The last municipal vineyard in Paris, and its harvest in October is its festival called |
| Saint-Ouen Flea Market | Porte de Clignancourt | Huge antique and second-hand market, Saturday through Monday. Right on the edge of the city. |
Tours and activities in the 18th Arrondissement that might interest you
And if you're looking for attractions in other neighborhoods of the city, my Paris attractions page brings them all together in one place.
My recommended restaurants in the 18th arrondissement of Paris
Montmartre has many restaurants aimed at tourists who go up the hill once in their lives, so my list is concentrated on the side streets:
| the restaurant | Type | Address | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ramey Workshop | French classic | 23 Rue Ramey | On the eastern slope of the hill, the side where people live |
| Adraba | Israeli chef | 40 Rue Véron | Israeli cuisine in Montmartre, on a side street near Abs |
| Alea | On the radar | 39 Rue Lamarck | A young place on Rue LeMarc that came on my radar |
| Le Boréal | On the radar | 39 Montcalm Street | North of the hill, in an area with no tourists at all |
| The little mill | French classic | 17 Rue Tholozé | On the street of Moulin de la Galette. I couldn't find an active official website for it. |
Looking for restaurants in other neighborhoods? My recommended restaurants page is organized by cuisine type and neighborhood.
The food markets of the 18th arrondissement in Paris
There are five food markets in the district, and none of them are on the hill itself. The most interesting of them to me is the Barabs Market, which operates under the elevated metro line and has the cheapest prices in the city. The data is from the 18th District municipality website.
| The market | Address | Days and hours | Metro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbès Market (Marché Barbès) | Boulevard de la Chapelle, opposite Larboisière Hospital | Wednesday 07:00 to 13:30, Saturday 07:00 to 14:30 | Barbès-Rochechouart |
| Ornano Market (Marché Ornano) | Boulevard Ornano, between rue Mont-Cenis and rue Ordener | Tuesday 07:00 to 13:30, Friday 07:30 to 13:30, Saturday 07:00 to 14:30 | Simplon |
| Ordener Market (Marché Ordener) | Rue Ordener, between rue Montcalm and rue Championnet | Wednesday 07:00 to 13:30, Saturday 07:00 to 14:30 | Jules Joffrin |
| Ney Market (Marché Ney) | Boulevard Ney, between rue Jean Varenne and rue Camille Flammarion | Thursday 07:00 to 13:30, Sunday 07:00 to 14:30 | Porte de Clignancourt |
| Olive Covered Market (Marché couvert de l'Olive) | 10 rue de l'Olive | Tuesday to Saturday 09:00 to 20:00, Sunday 08:30 to 13:30. Closed on Mondays | Marx Dormoy |
In addition to these five, the Gott Dor neighborhood also has Marché Dejean, an African street market with products you don't see in the rest of the city. I couldn't find official hours for it, so it's not in the table. On my markets page you'll find recommended markets in other neighborhoods of the city.
Itineraries in the 18th arrondissement of Paris
This is the district with the most routes on the site. I divided them into two: those that all take place within the district, and those that pass through it and continue.
Routes that take place in the 18th arrondissement
Routes that pass through the 18th district and other neighborhoods
Want all the itineraries I've written, by district and by theme? My Paris itineraries page has them all.
The history of Montmartre
The name Montmartre comes from the Mount of the Martyrs, after Saint Denis who, according to tradition, was beheaded here and continued to walk with his head in his hands. Then came a monastery whose headwoman became the mistress of the King of France, and then the Montmartre of the Commune, of cheap wine and of La Bohème. Until 1860 it was not part of Paris at all but an independent village with windmills on the hill.
For the full article on the history of Montmartre
The next step in your trip
For those who want to explore the hill in depth, with dozens of tips and stories, my Montmartre district page centers everything in one place. To the south, the 9th arrondissement awaits with the Opera and the arcades , and to the west, Batignolles and the 17th arrondissement.
And if you want to be prepared for any scenario, my comprehensive Paris guide brings together all the knowledge I've accumulated for you. Have an amazing trip, and don't forget to come down the hill and walk around the district for me.
Hey
I'm going to Paris tomorrow and every chance I get for the past month I've been reading about your attractions and recommendations.
You have a well-invested, detailed, very, very effective and professional website.
Thank you very much for all the information
Happy holiday
Hadas
Hi Hadas.
Thank you very much for the support and have a pleasant flight. And who knows, maybe we'll meet by chance in Paris (I'm flying today).
Best regards,
deer