We love doing food/walking tours and there are many good options for Paris. I settled on a Secret Food Tour in Montmartre. One of the places Norah wanted to eat on our trip was Pink Mamma (highly popular due to the Instagram/Tik Tok crowd), which is walkable from Montmartre, so we decided to make it a full day in Montmartre. I’m glad we did - we had a leisurely day to explore this charming area and it was a terrific day.

Our food tour convened at 10 am and we arrived early so we had time to visit Sacré-Cœur Basilica (Sacred Heart) and Le mur des je t'aime (the “I Love You” Wall) beforehand. We took the metro to Abbesses and I think this had to be the most stairs I have seen at a subway station. We made our way to Sacré-Cœur located at the top of the butte of Montmartre (Paris’ natural high point at 430 feet). It was nice to visit earlier in the morning as there weren’t that many people (we would walk by here again later in the afternoon and it was significantly more crowded).

In a city full of old churches and history, Sacré-Cœur is a relative newcomer with an interesting past. In 1870 Prussia invaded France, who quickly surrendered. The city of Paris was a holdout and continued their resistance against the Prussian siege and the French government that fled to Versailles and were collaborating with the Germans. Some Parisians formed an opposition government called the Paris Commune and Montmartre featured in their uprising. French soldiers were ordered to retake Paris in 1871 and in the fighting many citizens were killed in what came to be known as La Semaine Sanglante (Bloody Week). The remaining Communards holed up in Père Lachaise and after they were overcome by French soldiers, they were lined up against a wall and shot (the Mur des Fédérés or the Communards Wall in Père Lachaise Cemetery marks where they met their violent end).

Sacré-Cœur was first proposed by Felix Fournier, the Bishop of Nantes, in 1870 after France’s defeat and the capture of Napoleon III. He blamed the defeat of France on the moral decline of the country since the French Revolution. He was joined by philanthropist Alexandre Legentil who wrote “We recognize that we were guilty and justly punished. To make honourable amends for our sins …. we promise to contribute to the erection in Paris of a sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus”. In 1873 the National Assembly voted to use the highest and most visible land in the city to “expiate the crimes of the Commune”. This decision was controversial (and still remains so today among certain schools of thought) as many French people were disgusted that the French government shot its own citizens. In 1898, Emile Zola wrote sarcastically, "France is guilty. It must do penitence. Penitence for what? For the Revolution, for a century of free speech and science, and emancipated reason... for that they built this gigantic landmark that Paris can see from all of its streets, and cannot be seen without feeling misunderstood and injured."

Nevertheless, the plan moved forward and Montmartre (the “Hill of Martyrs”) was chosen for its association with the early Christian church (according to tradition it was the place where the patron saint of Paris, Saint Denis, was beheaded by the Romans). Construction began in 1875, but it would take forty years and five different architects before it was completed in 1914. The basilica was formally consecrated in 1919 after WWI. The Roman-Byzantine basilica has five domes and required deep foundations (130 feet) due to it being built on old gypsum mines, the source of the white “plaster of Paris” used on Paris’ buildings for centuries, including Sacré-Cœur itself. This was an aha moment for me. While I have been aware of “plaster of Paris” forever, it never occurred to me the origin of the name and material.

We entered Sacré-Cœur to admire the architecture and beauty and spent some time outside taking in the view (it is possible to purchase a ticket to climb to the dome for an even higher view, but the dome didn’t open until 10 am). We could pick out many of Paris’ landmarks from this vantage point, including the Pompidou, Pantheon, Montparnasse Tower, and Les Invalides. After our visit to Sacré-Cœur we slowly made our way back to Abbesses, meandering along the quaint streets and popping into a few shops. We stopped in the small park by Abbesses named Square Jehan-Rictus and home to Le mur des je t’aime. The “I Love You” Wall was created in 2000 by artists Fédéric Baron and Claire Kito. It features the phrase “I love you” written 311 times in 250 languages on 612 enameled lava tiles.

Now it was time for our food tour and we met Nanako from Secret Food Tours and the rest of the participants by the Abbesses metro stop. We really enjoyed this tour and it was one of the highlights of our trip. Not only was the food delicious, we liked learning about the food and history from Nanako. For the first part of the tour we walked around Montmartre with stops to purchase food and try some local treats:

Pain Pain: Bakery that was winner of the best baguette in Paris in 2012. Nanako picked up baguettes and we got to try Financier bites.

La Butte Fromagère: We learned a little about different cheeses: types of cheese, regions, the cheese making process, etc. We got to sample a cheese and Nanako purchased cheese we would taste later.

Boucherie Jacky Gaudin: Our stop for charcuterie. Nanako pointed out different meats in the window and talked about meats commonly eaten.

Chocolat Illèné: We got to choose two macarons and two chocolates from this chocolate artisan - everything was delicious.

La Crêperie: Nanako had put in our order ahead of time so we didn’t have to wait for our crêpes. Norah had a lemon one and I had salted caramel. Yum!

After the stops around Montmartre we had the second part of the tour, which was sitting down in a private space to eat, drink wine, and learn more about the food. I really liked the format of this tour - it was nice to sit and enjoy the food in our own space. We had baguettes, red wine, white wine, five cheeses (morbier ash cheese, comté, goat cheese, a triple creme brillat savarin with truffles, and a mild blue cheese with jam), and five meats (jambon blanc, saucisse à lail (smoked garlic sausage), rosette de lyon (cured and dried pork sausage), a pâté, and rillette doie with mustard (goose shredded meat with fat)). When we didn’t think we could possibly eat anymore, Nanako brought out éclairs from Pain Pain as a final treat. Everything was delicious and we had a wonderful time.

After our food tour we had most of the afternoon ahead of us until Pink Mamma opened at 6:45 pm. While there are some museums recommended to visit in Montmartre, we instead opted to walk around the neighborhood and soak in the charm. Some points of interest on our walk:

Montmartre Cemetery: Officially known as the Cimitière du Nord, this third largest cemetery in Paris opened in 1825. It is situated in a unique location: an abandoned gypsum quarry previously used as a mass grave. The cemetery is below street level and the cemetery entrance is down a flight of stairs on Avenue Rachel. There are some famous residents in the cemetery, although we didn’t seek them out - we just spent about an hour wandering the lanes looking at the interesting memorials and keeping an eye out for the cats.

Villa Léandre: A dead end street lined with English inspired art deco houses. The street was built on the site of a former mill in the 1920s when it was known as Villa Junot until it was named in 1936 for a local comedian, Charles Léandre.

Le Moulin de la Galette: At one time Montmartre was a country village of the working class and the hill was dotted with over a dozen windmills (moulin is French for windmill) to grind wheat, press grapes, and crush materials needed by local factories. Two windmills, Moulin Radet (built in 1717) and Moulin de Blute-fin (built in 1622), were owned by the Debray family and defended against the Cossacks in the siege of Paris in 1814. The miller was killed and his corpse was nailed to the windmill. His son eventually turned Blute-fin into a guinguette (dance hall) called “Moulin de la Galette”, the name inspired by a small brown bread the millers made and sold. The present day Moulin de la Galette restaurant is topped by the original Moulin Radet.

When Montmatre was a hotspot for artists, the windmills were popular subjects for paintings by Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso, and Toulouse-Lautrec. A few days later we would see Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s famous painting Bal du Moulin de la Galette at the Musée d'Orsay.

Le Passe-Muraille (Passer Through Walls): This bronze sculpture by Jean Marais is based on the character Monsieur Dutilleul in a short story by Marcel Ayme, who once lived in Montmartre. M. Dutilleul discovers he can walk through walls and while using his powers for less than honorable means, he is caught mid-wall and stuck forever.

Rue de l'Abreuvoir: A picturesque street that is also one of Paris’ oldest.

La Maison Rose: This iconic pink house at the end of Rue de l’Abreuvoir has been open for over a hundred years and was a favorite haunt for writers and painters (it was made famous by an Utrillo painting).

Clos Montmartre - Vigne de Montmartre: This “hidden vineyard” of Paris was established in 1933 as a way to save green space from developers. Although the history of wine in this area goes back much further. Vines have grown here since the 10th century and monks and nuns of the Abbey of the Sisters of the Convent of Montmartre produced wine in the 12th century. The vineyard is currently closed to the public except for the annual grape-harvest festival. The wine produced is said to be mediocre and is auctioned off to help support local charities.

Place du Tertre: Place du Tertre has been a town square of Montmatre since medieval times and is still a locus of activity in the neighborhood. Although these days it’s swarmed by tourists and scorned by some to be a tourist trap, it still felt like a place we needed to stop while in Montmartre. And it was busy, busy, busy. Despite this we liked walking around the square, watching the artists sketch portraits, browsing the art, and picking out pieces to buy. We also walked down Montmartre’s oldest and main street: Rue Norvins.

Since the afternoon was sunnier than the morning, we decided to swing by Sacré-Cœur again for the Paris views. We also paid another visit to Pain Pain. When we stopped by there on the food tour everything looked delicious and we returned to pick out some pastries. We found a place to sit and eat our Mont Blanc and eclair, wandered a little more down some cute streets, and killed some time before heading to Pink Mamma. The only reservation available when I booked was late at night and we didn’t think we would make it that long, so we went early to stand in line for when they opened. Luckily we were early enough and were able to snag seats at the bar. Norah took a walk upstairs to get some pictures (she thought if you wanted pictures, it was better to go during the day with daylight - the top floor is a garden inspired terrace with ample skylights and light). The place was cute and the food was tasty - we had good drinks, a stracciatella appetizer, and a pasta dish with fresh ricotta and smoked stracciatella - but I feel it has really benefited from Instagram/TikTok. I’m still glad we went though (especially since we got in earlier). All in all we had a lovely day in Montmartre.