What do medieval winemaking nuns have to do with a 19-year-old Black American girl dancing in a banana skirt in Paris?
On this tour, we connect those dots, tracing how Montmartre came to be, and the larger global forces that drew Black Americans, Africans, and Caribbeans to this very special part of Paris.
On this walk, you’ll get:
A clear, engaging history of Montmartre beyond the usual stories
The chance to see the neighborhood’s major sites through a fresh lens
A local guide who knows how to avoid most of the crowds (and pigeons )
A deeper understanding of how movement and migration shape places, and why Montmartre became a crossroads for Black life and culture
Points forts
2 heures
Proposé en Anglais
Annulation gratuite
Billet mobile
2 heures
Proposé en Anglais
Annulation gratuite
Billet mobile
Ce qui est inclus
Tips on what else to see, eat and do in the area
Tour is rain or shine (it rains often in Paris , but usually lightly)
Guided by a local who cares about the neighborhood!
Meals
Gratuities
We won't be entering Sacré Cœur, but will be taking in the views.
We won't be entering the Moulin Rouge
Points de rendez-vous
Départ
2 Pl. Constantin Pecqueur
I'll be standing right at the door! It shouldn't be too crowded, so I'll be easy to spot.
Retour
52 Rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
Informations importantes
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Animaux d'assistance autorisés
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Des options de transport en commun sont disponibles à proximité
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Adapté à tous les niveaux de condition physique
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There is some uphill walking
Politique d'annulation
Pour un remboursement complet, annulez au moins 24 heures avant l'heure de départ prévue.
•
Pour un remboursement complet, vous devez annuler au moins 24 heures avant l'heure de début de l'expérience.
•
Les délais limites sont basés sur l'heure locale de l'expérience.
•
Si vous annulez moins de 24 heures avant l'heure de début de l'expérience, le montant que vous avez payé ne sera pas remboursé.
•
Cette expérience nécessite un nombre minimum de voyageurs. Si elle est annulée parce que le minimum n'est pas atteint, on vous proposera une autre date/expérience ou un remboursement intégral.
•
Toute modification effectuée moins de 24 heures avant l'heure de début de l'expérience ne sera pas acceptée.
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We begin at a small vineyard tucked among apartment buildings, a reminder that Montmartre was once covered in vines. The wine sold here set the stage for a community that would eventually welcome an extension of the Harlem Renaissance.
10 minutes
2
La Petite Maison Rose de Montmartre (Since 1920)
We pass one of Montmartre’s most photographed streets and buildings, a picture-perfect moment.
0 minute
3
Eglise Saint-Pierre de Montmartre
One of the oldest churches in Paris, Saint-Pierre marks Montmartre as sacred ground and a site of pilgrimage for African and Caribbean seminaries in the early 1800s. For years, people from all over the world climbed this hill, tracing the steps of Montmartre’s legendary bishop.
15 minutes
4
Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre
We won’t enter the basilica, but we’ll unpack the tragic events that led to its construction and how they shaped Montmartre’s rebellious, outsider culture.
15 minutes
5
Place du Tertre
At Montmartre’s center, where art and politics collide, we revisit post–World War I celebrations honoring Black soldiers, alongside a lesser-known and more troubling commemoration held in the square.
10 minutes
6
Le Bateau-Lavoir
Best known as Picasso's studio, the Bateau-Lavoir gives us a moment to step beyond the famous names and look at the work of lesser-known Black artists who passed through Montmartre, artists shaped by the same precarity, and experimentation that defined the hill.
10 minutes
7
Le Moulin de la Galette
We pass by the Moulin de la Galette, once a windmill turned popular dance spot, where working-class Parisians, artists, and outsiders gathered.
0 minute
8
Moulin Rouge
In front of the Moulin Rouge, we see how Montmartre’s rebellious spirit spilled downhill into Pigalle’s looser nightlife, creating a rare space that welcomed Black performers.
5 minutes
9
Quartier Pigalle
We stop at the former site of Chez Josephine, where we unpack the performance that made Josephine Baker a star and how it clashed with the ideals of the Negritude movement.
15 minutes
10
Quartier Pigalle
We end at the former site of Le Grand Duc, a hugely popular jazz club and pillar of Paris’s Jazz Age. Here, we trace how that era came to an end and where Black communities in Paris took root afterward.
What do medieval winemaking nuns have to do with a 19-year-old Black American girl dancing in a banana skirt in Paris?
On this tour, we connect those dots, tracing how Montmartre came to be, and the larger global forces that drew Black Americans, Africans, and Caribbeans to this very special part of Paris.
On this walk, you’ll get:
A clear, engaging history of Montmartre beyond the usual stories
The chance to see the neighborhood’s major sites through a fresh lens
A local guide who knows how to avoid most of the crowds (and pigeons )
A deeper understanding of how movement and migration shape places, and why Montmartre became a crossroads for Black life and culture
Points forts
2 heures
Proposé en Anglais
Annulation gratuite
Billet mobile
2 heures
Proposé en Anglais
Annulation gratuite
Billet mobile
Ce qui est inclus
Tips on what else to see, eat and do in the area
Tour is rain or shine (it rains often in Paris , but usually lightly)
Guided by a local who cares about the neighborhood!
Meals
Gratuities
We won't be entering Sacré Cœur, but will be taking in the views.
We won't be entering the Moulin Rouge
Points de rendez-vous
Départ
2 Pl. Constantin Pecqueur
I'll be standing right at the door! It shouldn't be too crowded, so I'll be easy to spot.