Place du Tertre

Montmartre & Northern Paris


Today filled with visitors, buskers and portrait artists, place du Tertre was originally the main square of the village of Montmartre before it was incorporated into the city proper.

One of the more popular claims of Montmartre mythology is staked to La Mère Catherine at No 6: in 1814, so it’s said, Cossack soldiers first introduced the term bistro (Russian for ‘quickly’) into the French lexicon. Another big moment came on Christmas Eve 1898, when Louis Renault’s first car was driven up the Butte to the place du Tertre, igniting the start of the French auto industry.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Montmartre & Northern Paris attractions

1. Dalí Paris

0.04 MILES

More than 300 works by Salvador Dalí (1904–89), the flamboyant Catalan surrealist printmaker, painter, sculptor and self-promoter, are on display at this…

2. Église St-Pierre de Montmartre

0.04 MILES

All that remains of the former Benedictine Abbey of Montmartre, this church dates back to the 12th century and is one of the oldest in Paris, though it…

3. Musée de Montmartre

0.08 MILES

This delightful 'village' museum showcases paintings, lithographs and documents illustrating Montmartre's bohemian, artistic and hedonistic past – one…

4. Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

0.11 MILES

Begun in 1875 in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War and the chaos of the Paris Commune, Sacré-Cœur is a symbol of the former struggle between the…

5. Clos Montmartre

0.13 MILES

Epitomising Montmartre's enchanting village-like atmosphere, the quartier has its own small vineyard. Planted in 1933, its 2000 vines produce an average…

6. Le Bateau Lavoir

0.15 MILES

In the late 19th century and early 20th century impoverished artists Max Jacob, Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso – who painted Les Demoiselles d…

7. Le Mur des je t'aime

0.16 MILES

Few visitors can resist a selfie in front of Montmartre's 'I Love You' wall, a public artwork created in a small park by artists Frédéric Baron and Claire…

8. Le Passe-Muraille

0.16 MILES

Just north of Montmartre's famous windmills, on place Marcel Aymé, watch a man pop out of a stone wall. Created by artist Jean Marais in 1989, the…