Monmarte - the area of Artists

We hopped off of the Metro for our Monmarte adventure and were confronted by obnoxious signs of the 'red light' district of Paris, it was daytime thus very little else was on display. Our tour of Monmarte area began at the famous or infamous Moulin Rouge. Made even more popular by the movie by the same name, the Moulin Rouge is a dance hall/Burlesques show venue. Tickets are rather expensive, starting at about 130 Euro for a matinee. I will not be able to review the show for you, in that I will be spending my euro on travels to various French Cathedrals and other scenic attractions.

We walked through the streets and saw some quaint courtyards and some interesting grafitti!
Up and Up and Up the hill of Monmarte we went on the cobblestone streets.

These are the two remaining windmills on the hill of Monmarte. 'Moulins' were utilized by the french people to grind flour so they could make the delicious baguettes they are known for! In Pittsburgh, at the Carnegie Museum of Art we have two paintings of Vincent van Gogh, one of my favorite artists. One of them is of the Moulin de la Galette, I imagined the windmill was out in the countryside, imagine my surprise to see it in Monmarte.


Seeing the apartment building in which Vincent had lived was exciting. Not far down the way, on the corner of the block was the apartment of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.
Renoir lived in this apartment on the right.

Picasso, and many other artists, lived in the Bateau de Lavoir. The famous Les Demoiselles d'Avignon that turned the art world upside down in 1907 was painted in this building. Picasso and Georges Braque worked together and created first analytic cubism and then synthetic cubism. Part of the building burned down later in the 20th century and has been rebuilt. The display in the window illustrates the significance of this residence in the history of art. Today, many artists are in residence working to create their own masterpieces.

There was an interesting sculpture of a man coming through a wall, and the Au Lapin Agile, which is also offers a Burlesque show as well as food and beverages.

At the top of the 'hill' is Sacre Coeur, the Neo-Gothic church built to "recompense for all national failings." Construction began in 1875, it is a gorgeous church with the most beautiful view in Paris. I hope to return to Monmarte soon and further explore this artistic area.