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If you are the kind of tourist that does not travel to discover things, but
to recognize them, the 18th district is for you. Here you will find what you
have already seen in movies and postcards: sex industry in Pigalle,
mills and artists in Montmartre.
Saint-Ouen Saint-Denis
_________________________Pt________________Pt___________________Pt___
| Clignancourt Chapelle Aubervilliers
| \ ++ ++|
| \ ++ ++|
| \ ++ ++|
| \ ++ ++|
| \ ++ ++|
|_____ rue Ordener \ ++ ++|
| -------______ \ ++ ++|
| ------_____\ ++ ++|
17th| -|--____ ++ ++|19th
| | --++--______ ++|
| | ++ ------___++|
| _____________ | ++ ++|
| /rue Caulainc.\_ | ++ ++|
| / \ | ++ ++|
| / \_ | ++ ++|
| / Sacré \| ++ ++|
| / Coeur | ++ ++|
| / | ++ ++|
| / | ++ ++|
| / Pl Pl Barbès ++ ++|
---------Blanche---Pigalle---------|--------++-----------------++------
Gare ++
9th Nord 10th Gare Est
Everything in italics is outside the district. ++ signs
indicate the railroads. The 18th district is the 2nd most populated
district in Paris with 184,586 inhabitants in 1990. It's the 3rd
largest district (7.15 km2).
Pigalle
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle was a French
sculptor in the
18th
century. Now he is one of the most important
night life and
sex areas in
Europe, but it's not his fault.
Night clubs and sex shops gather on
a continuous line from
Place Pigalle to
Place Blanche and beyond,
on the frontier between the 18th district and the
9th district. One of the most famous French
cabarets, the
Moulin Rouge, stands on Place Blanche.
Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur
From Pigalle, gloomy (and busy at night) streets go up to
Montmartre, one of the highest hills in Paris, and
certainly the most famous. Montmartre is a labyrinth of streets and
stairs where your only landmark is the slope of the hill. Every
pedestrian, after walking at random, naturally gets to Place du
Tertre, where dozens of painters are waiting for them. A little
farther, you'll get to the Sacré-Coeur.
The Sacré-Coeur is a gigantic white basilica, built by the
Parisians at the end of the 19th century. Because it stands on the
highest point in Montmartre, you can see it from everywhere in
Paris. It also gives a good point of view over the capital. The church
itself, with its eclectic and pompous style, is not the best
example of French good taste. However, as often in Paris, the
gardens that go down from the church to the bottom of the hill produce
a beautiful perspective.
This perspective is very well used in a movie which has been the
largest success in French cinemas since Titanic: Amélie Poulain
(Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain). The movie gave a popular,
old-fashioned vision of Montmartre which has little to do with the
real Montmartre. The movie aimed at pleasure, not accuracy. Amélie's
café and Amélie's greengrocer really exist, the former in rue Lepic
and the latter a few blocks above.
Montmartre is worth a long walk. On the northern part you can find
vineyards that sell a few bottles of wine every year. Or a small
cemetary. Or old cabarets which were famous one century ago. Or
references to the Paris Commune. Or mills. Not all areas are
reserved to tourists. Two blocks above Pigalle, Place des Abbesses
is a pleasant and popular area in the evening.
The rest of the district
The eastern half of the district contains many different
nationalities. Rue Poulet (metro Chateau-Rouge) is a crowded African
quarter. Goutte d'Or (metro Barbes-Rochechouart) is the most
important North-African quarter, and one of the most crowded places on
Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The Indian town of the 10th district extends north of metro La Chapelle, between
the railroads of Gare du Nord and the railroads of Gare de
l'Est. And finally you will also find Chinese shops and others in
that area.