At 130m, the Butte Montmartre is the highest point in Paris. The various theories as to the origin of its name all have a Roman connection: it could be a corruption of Mons Martyrum – "the Martyrs' hill" – the martyrs being St Denis and his companions; on the other hand, it might have been named Mons Mercurii, in honour of a Roman shrine to Mercury; or possibly Mons Martis, after a shrine to Mars.In spite of being one of the city's chief tourist attractions, the Butte manages to retain the quiet, almost secretive, air of its rural origins. Incorporated into the city only in the mid-nineteenth century, it received its first major influx of population from the poor displaced by Haussmann's rebuilding programme. Its heyday was from the last years of the century to World War I, when its rustic charms and low rents attracted crowds of artists. Although that traditional community of workers and artists has largely been supplanted by a more chic and prosperous class of Bohemians, the quartier's physical appearance has changed little, thanks largely to the warren of plaster-of-Paris quarries that perforate its bowels and render the ground too unstable for new building. The most popular access route is via the rue de Steinkerque and the steps below the Sacré-Cœur, Montmartre's hilltop church and most famous landmark (the funicular railway from place Suzanne-Valadon is covered by ordinary métro tickets). But for a quieter approach, head up via place des Abbesses or rue Lepic, where you'll have the streets to yourself.
Pages in section ‘Montmartre’: Around Place des Abbesses, Up to the Butte, Place du Tertre, St-Pierre and the Sacré-Cœur, Northern side of the Butte, Halle St-Pierre, Montmartre cemetery.
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