Holidaying in Paris? Visiting Montmartre? You’ll find there’s lots to see, some great places to eat and drink interesting shops to browse. Sit on the steps leading up to the Basilica of Sacré Coeur and you’ll find it’s the perfect spot to take photos and to enjoy a panorama of Paris.

Montmartre also has a superb museum, with a cafe and beautiful gardens. Don’t miss it.

Read more about it in the Francy That! article Montmartre Museum: The Beautiful Era.

Montmartre for art

Butte Montmartre, the hill on which Sacré Coeur stands, is also the artistic centre of Paris. Its attractive village, behind the Basilica, is the bohemian capital of the pavement artist.

The Place du Tertre, at the very centre of the village, has more artists’ stations than you can comfortably browse in an afternoon, especially in the warmer months. You can sit for a portrait, buy an original landscape or a drawing of a Parisian landmark and take home a genuine memento of your visit. Most of the artists there are working ‘live’ as you watch.

But beware!

If you venture into the packed streets around the square and the cobbled lanes that snake up the hill, the ‘art of Montmartre’ takes on a different meaning.

There are obvious tourist traps; dozens of shops sell postcards and posters and reproductions of drawings and photos. They don’t pretend they’re anything else.

Here and there, though, the art boutiques beckon. A safe bet, if you want ‘real art? Well, perhaps not ….

When arts ain’t arts

It might (or might not) be a surprise to learn that ‘classic’ views of Paris – bargain oil paintings sold for between ten and twenty-five euros – have been exposed as fabriquées en Chine (made in China).

In various articles, it has been revealed that views of Sacré Coeur, Notre Dame and other ‘in demand’ scenes, are being mass produced by Chinese artists, thousands of kilometres away, in Dafen, a village in southern China. These pictures have made their way to the shops and streets of Montmartre and, because of their competitive prices, are diverting the tourist dollar, euro or pound from the genuine French article.

The paintings are usually bought in job lots from China and, as you would expect, the artists of Montmartre are not amused. They aren’t impressed that this tacky trade not only threatens the tradition of Montmartre as being an artists’ haven but also has a serious effect on their livelihood.

Artists, and others, are also outraged that there is no requirement that these pictures are identified as being ‘Made in China’. That, at least, would allow tourists to make an informed choice, if not necessarily a wise one.

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