Where to Stay in Montmartre

What staying in Montmartre is like

Montmartre is a hill in the 18th arrondissement, on the north side of Paris. At about 130 meters, it is the highest ground in the city, and the Sacré-Cœur basilica stands on the summit. Montmartre was a separate village until 1860, when Paris annexed it. It still has a village street plan of short lanes, stairways and sudden changes in level.

The summit is the busiest part. Restaurant terraces and licensed painters fill place du Tertre, and the Sacré-Cœur is free to enter every day from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm. None of the four hotels on the hill is at the summit. They stand on the slopes around rue des Abbesses, rue Lepic and rue Caulaincourt, and range from 5 suites to 78 rooms. On Sundays rue Lepic and rue Tholozé are closed to cars.

Who Montmartre suits

• Couples and solo travelers who want a small hotel and do not mind walking uphill.
• Travelers who want a view. Terrass" Hôtel has rooms facing the Eiffel Tower and a 7th-floor rooftop bar, and Hôtel des Arts Montmartre sells rooms that look over the rooftops.
• Visitors who plan to spend their time on the hill, at the Sacré-Cœur, place du Tertre, the Bateau-Lavoir, where Pablo Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907, and 54 rue Lepic, where Vincent van Gogh lived with his brother Theo from 1886 to 1888.

Look elsewhere if walking is difficult. The streets are steep, several hotels reach some rooms only by stairs, and Hôtel des Arts Montmartre has no rooms for guests with reduced mobility. Terrass" Hôtel is the exception, with two lifts and two adapted rooms. Look elsewhere too if most of your plans are at the Louvre, Notre-Dame or the Marais. Line 12, the line that crosses the hill, stops at none of them.

Families have three choices. Hôtel Monsieur Aristide has suites, connecting rooms and a Garden Apartment for up to four. Terrass" Hôtel has Privilege rooms and Junior Suites for two adults and two children. Near Pigalle, Hôtel Le Ballu has apartments for up to five and connecting rooms for up to six. Hôtel des Arts Montmartre has no triple or connecting rooms.

Getting around: Métro, funicular, trains and airports

Line 12 crosses the hill, stopping at Jules Joffrin, Lamarck–Caulaincourt, Abbesses and Pigalle. Line 2 follows the boulevards at the foot of the hill, stopping at Place de Clichy, Blanche, Pigalle and Anvers, and Line 13 also stops at Place de Clichy. Abbesses station is 36 meters below ground, so take the lift: Hôtel des Arts Montmartre counts more than 150 steps between the platform and the street.

To reach the Sacré-Cœur without climbing the 222 steps of rue Foyatier, take the funicular. Its lower station is about 200 meters north of Anvers station, the ride takes under 90 seconds, and a standard Métro ticket is valid. Bus 40 is the only bus line that runs on the hilltop.

• Gare Saint-Lazare and Gare Montparnasse: Line 12 runs direct from Abbesses to both.
• Gare du Nord, for Eurostar trains to London: Line 2 east to La Chapelle, which has an underground passage to the station.
• Charles de Gaulle Airport: RER B from Gare du Nord.
• Orly Airport: Line 12 to Saint-Lazare, then Line 14, which has run to the airport since June 2024.
• Taxi: Paris taxis charge a fixed fare to and from the airports. For the Right Bank, which includes Montmartre, it is €56 for Charles de Gaulle and €45 for Orly, plus any permitted supplements.

The tradeoffs

• Hills and stairs. Getting from any hotel to the summit means climbing, and some streets are stairways.
• Crowds at the top. Place du Tertre and the Sacré-Cœur are heavily visited. Early morning gives the clearest view of place du Tertre.
• Small rooms. Standard rooms at Hôtel des Arts Montmartre measure 12 square meters, and Classic rooms at Hôtel Monsieur Aristide 13. Check the size before you book.
• Boulevard de Clichy. The boulevard along the bottom of the hill is a nightlife strip of sex shops, peep shows and the Moulin Rouge. Hotels near place Blanche and Pigalle are close to it.
• Parking. Hôtel des Arts Montmartre rents three spaces nearby and Terrass" Hôtel one. Hôtel Particulier Montmartre has none.

Choosing a hotel on the hill

Terrass" Hôtel is the largest of the four, with 78 rooms and suites, and has the most facilities: Edmond, a 7th-floor restaurant, a rooftop bar open to non-guests, a spa with a sauna and hammam, and two lifts. It faces Montmartre Cemetery on rue Joseph-de-Maistre, 3 to 5 minutes' walk from Blanche station. The founder's family has owned it since 1923.

Hôtel des Arts Montmartre and Hôtel Monsieur Aristide are small four-star hotels just off rue des Abbesses. Hôtel des Arts, run by the Lameyre family since the early 1960s, has 49 rooms, a hammam, a fitness room and an honesty bar, but no restaurant. Its superior rooms look toward the Sacré-Cœur or over the rooftops. It stands on rue Tholozé, opposite Studio 28, a cinema that opened in 1928.

Hôtel Monsieur Aristide has 25 rooms around an inner garden and its own restaurant and bar, Café Aristide. It has family rooms and accepts small pets, but has no spa or gym. Some booking sites still list it under its old name, Hôtel du Moulin.

Hôtel Particulier Montmartre is the smallest: five suites of 35 to 85 square meters in a house set back from avenue Junot, with about 900 square meters of gardens. It is legally a bed and breakfast with no star rating, but it has a restaurant and a cocktail bar, Le Très Particulier. Each suite sleeps two adults and a baby. Lamarck–Caulaincourt station is a 5-minute walk.

At the foot of the hill, near Pigalle

Two five-star hotels in the 9th arrondissement, just south of boulevard de Clichy, have what none of the hill hotels has: a pool. Hôtel Le Ballu has a covered heated pool, a garden restaurant and 35 rooms, each with a kitchenette. Two rooms are adapted for reduced mobility. It is a 4-minute walk from Place de Clichy and Blanche stations.

Maison Souquet has 20 rooms, decorated by Jacques Garcia to recall a Belle Époque brothel. Each guest can book its pool, the Salon d'Eau, privately for one hour a day at no extra charge. It is about 150 meters from Blanche station.