Before Montmartre was a hill full of painters, it was a village that grew its own wine and bought its bread from the corner. Much of that village is still here, in the bakeries, the market and the small shops that feed the Butte behind the crowds. This is Montmartre walked around its tables, with the history of the place told along the way rather than recited from a script.
It is the same hill as our Montmartre walking tour, approached differently. Where that walk follows the painters and the studios, this one follows what the neighbourhood ate while they were painting.
The food part
Climb away from the obvious streets and Montmartre is still, in places, a working village. A market, bakeries that have been on the same corner for decades, a vineyard that still makes a few hundred bottles a year, and small shops that supply the people who actually live on the hill. We move between a few of them across the morning, tasting as we go, with time to understand what we are eating and where it comes from.
The exact stops shift with the season and the day, and we will confirm what is included when we plan the morning with you. What stays the same is the shape of it, a relaxed walk through the quieter side of the hill, with enough to eat that lunch afterwards is optional.
The market · the bakeries · the old village
What you will also see
The food leads you to the parts of Montmartre the crowds never reach. We climb the quieter streets, pass the vineyard and the last of the windmills, and read the village that the painters found when they arrived, cheap, steep and full of life, into what is still standing. The history is lighter here than on the walking tour, but it is the reason the hill tastes the way it does.
Pépin's advice
Come hungry, within reason. There is enough tasting across the morning that a full breakfast is a mistake. Arrive with an appetite and lunch becomes optional.
Tell us about allergies and preferences in advance. Vegetarian, gluten, anything at all. The earlier we know, the better we can shape the route around it.
Wear shoes you can climb in. The Butte is steep and the cobblestones are uneven. This is not the place for new shoes.
Good to know
This is an outdoor walk on a steep hill, with stairs and cobblestones in places, so comfortable shoes make all the difference. Tastings are arranged along the way, and we will confirm exactly what is included when we plan the morning with you. Individual shops keep their own opening days, so the precise stops may shift, but the walk is built so that something worthwhile is always open.
