ALREADY KNOW YOUR NEXT DESTINATION?
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE AUDIOGUIDE
The Montmartre cemetery is not as big as those of Père Lachaise and Montparnasse, but is well worth having a wander around in order to fully appreciate the bohemian and picturesque air of the district.
In 1798 the first cemetery was placed measuring a little more than one hectare, but it soon became too small. In 1825 the cemetery was placed in an old plaster quarry. This quarry had given the district the name of Barrière Blanche, White District. Originally some galleries in the quarry had been used to clandestinely bury victims of the uprisings of the French Revolution.
In the past it was a creepy spot, full of common graves where the remains of the poor were thrown. But after a profound remodelling in 1879, it now contains the remains of many leading figures, above all artists from the early 19th century.
The composer Hector Berlioz liked this cemetery so much that he decided to settle here, once he had died, of course. Other personalities buried in Montmartre are the painter and sculptor Edgar Degas, the writer Stendhal, the dancer Nijinsky, the film director François Truffaut and the writer Émile Zola. The composer Jacques Offenbach, to whom Paris owes a great deal since he was the creator of the Can-Can tune, has his tomb here. So does La Goulue, one of the first dancers of the Can-Can who was a model for Toulouse Lautrec.
Close to the Montmartre cemetery, on the outskirts of the Square Roland Dorgeles is another cemetery that often goes unnoticed. It is the Saint Vincent cemetery. Here rest other artists from the district such as the composer Arthur Honegger and the writer Marcel Aymé. The most outstanding tomb in this small cemetery is that of the painter Maurice Utrillo, the artist of Montmartre par excellence, who immortalised corners of the district in many of his paintings.
So now you know, we recommend this quiet walk among the brilliance and creativity of these illustrious figures.
Arc de Triomphe (18)
Church of The Madeleine (23)
Fontaine de l'Observatoire (43A)
Jardin du Luxembourg (43)
Les Invalides (55)
Odeon Theatre (45)
Passage des Panoramas (67B)
Place des Vosges (74)
Pont Neuf (8A)
Saint Germain des Prés (46)
Bastille Opera (73)
Conciergerie (35)
Grand Palais et Petit Palais (29)
La Défense (100)
Montmartre (60)
Opéra Garnier (25)
Passages Couverts (67)
Place du Tertre (63)
Quartier Latin (38)
Sainte Chapelle (5)
Arènes de Lutece (75)
Belleville (88)
Champ de Mars (15)
Fontaine des Innocents (27B)
Île Saint Louis (7)
Jardins des Champs Elysées (11)
Le Défenseur du Temps (27C)
Metro Art-Noveau (36)
Moulin de la Galette (95)
Palais de l'Elysée (28)
Parc Monceau (82)
Place Pigalle (70)
Quai Voltaire (53)
Saint Severin (41)
The Seine (3)
Au Lapin Agile (64)
Bercy (81)
Cimetière du Montmartre (68)
Françoise Miterrand Library (78)
Institut du Monde Arabe (79)
Jardins du Trocadéro (14)
Les Catacombes de Paris (49)
Montparnasse Cemetery (48)
Moulin Rouge (69)
Palais du Luxembourg (42)
Passage Jouffroy (67A)
Place Saint-Sulpice (50A)
Rue des Rosiers (87)
Saint-Étienne du Mont (91)
Val-de-Grâce (92)
Auteil (94)
Cathedral Orthodox Saint Alexandre Nevsky (83)
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise (85)
Hotel de Lauzun (9)
Institut Pasteur (54)
La Ruche (93)
Maison de Radio-France (17)
Montparnasse Tower (47)
National Library (77)
Palais Royal (26)
Passages Verdeau (67C)
Pont de l'Alma (8C)
Saint Eustache (27A)
Saint-Pierre-de-Montmartre (66)
Villette Park (98)
Basilique Saint-Denis (97)
Chaillot (13)
Cour de Rohan (52)
Île de la Cité (6)
Jardin des Plantes (76)
La Sorbonne (51)
Marché aux Puces de St. Ouen (96)
Mosquée de Paris (80)
Palais de la Porte Dorée (84)
Palais-Bourbon. Assemblée-Nationale (30)
Passy (89)
Port de l'Arsenal (72)
Saint Julien le Pauvre (39)
Saint-Sulpice (50)
Carnavalet Museum (34)
Musée de la Magie (90)
Musée d'Orsay - Art (59B)
Musée Picasso (33)
Victor Hug's House (58)
Georges Pompidou Centre (32)
Musée de l'Orangerie (21)
Musée d'Orsay - History (59A)
Museum of The Louvre - History (19A)