𝟱 An Art Journey in the City of Love – Montmartre’s Day

A new day in a new part of the city. We crossed to the other side of the river. We gained a new perspective on a new hotel. We set off on an exploration of the boulevards of the 9th arrondissement. Without the key to the lock, we headed for new heights.

Expectations were, of course, high, but we had to wait a while. It was Amelie’s place that had to push us out of the hotel room. Mile after mile, we have walked, and there would be many more to walk. Out of bed and up the slopes, our next destination was Moulin Rouge¹.

Light steps, filled with expectations, we made our way up the slopes. Hundreds of tourists and hundreds of smartphones in the air caught the view with the classic facade. The red windmill and its surroundings, didn’t disappoint us.

Of course, it didn’t end there. More to see, more to discover. Along the narrow streets, artists sat with their easels. They were around the closely spaced cafes. The artists at Place du Tertre² waited for the object.

Some wanted to be painted, and some could smell the food from nearby restaurants. We didn’t find Amelie³ either, but we didn’t expect that. She probably had other things to do that day ;)With new information and discoveries, we continued to move upwards. Nothing without the lock, as the key to where we were going.

Along the railings on the grand staircase at the great cathedral, everything goes into a lock. The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre stands behind us as a silhouette. We move our eyes along the view of the city. High up, we stand, and on the horizon, the 210-metre (689 ft) Tour Maine-Montparnasse rises high from the landscape.

Perhaps we stood at the highest point of the 18th arrondissement. We looked at the road, searching for traces of where we had just walked. That was how we got to this place. But that was just a parenthesis in the whole thing.

There was not much left to see and discover that day. Back in the 9th arrondissement, we walked along boulevards. After enjoying a late dinner at a standard restaurant, we landed on the hotel balcony. We caught the night lights of the city.

© Björn Blomqvist 2024-06-16

1. Moulin Rouge is an entertainment establishment at Place Blanche in Montmartre in Paris ↩︎
2. A square in the 18th arrondissement, a few streets away from Basilica of the Sacré Cœur. From the end of the 18th century until World War One, the whole Montmartre Boheme could be seen here: painters, songwriters and poets. ↩︎
3. Refers to the classic film Amelie from Montmartre (Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain) – 2001 ↩︎