Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Place du Tertre is world famous for its artists who paint your portrait. A personalized souvenir of Paris by professionals. Place du Tertre is also a lovely square at the heart of Montmartre with many bars, restaurants and terraces in the summer. As in most top touristic places in the city, a visit off season or off weekends is higly recommended. Montmartre top sights.
Place du Tertre in Montmartre is now the most famous and touristic square in Paris. A few blocks from the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, it is the heart of Montmartre, the last village of Paris.
Here, folklore is in full swing, between the restaurant terraces and easels belonging to the 298 artists who share 140 spaces, giving 1m2 for two artists working alternately. They paint the portrait of passers-by, a well done souvenir of Paris. A portrait costs around 80 euros. Do not allow an artist to paint your portrait before you agree the price for it.
Montmartre can be crowded on weekends. Go there on weekdays. Visit Place du Tertre early in the morning if you want to avoid the crowd. Place du Tertre is romantic at night. It is part of our easy Montmartre walk. A Montmartre guided tour is a practical way to visit Place du Tertre and other Montmartre sights. Guided tour information.
Place du Tertre on Montmartre map.
Paris metro: Abbesses station (line 12), Anvers (6).
Located near Place du Tertre, Timhotel Montmartre provides rooms with free Wi-Fi access, flat-screen TVs and private bathrooms. A buffet breakfast is served daily at the Timhotel Montmartre. The hotel also provides a 24-hour reception, where guests can request hairdryers and ironing facilities. The Timhotel Montmartre is a 5-minute walk from the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, the Moulin Rouge and the Dali Museum. It is 100 m from Abbesses Metro Station, which provides direct access to Montparnasse.
As all top tourist spots, Place du Tertre and the neighboring streets leading to Sacré-Coeur have many bars and restaurants, not all of them good value for money.
We recommend La Mère Catherine, the oldest restaurant of the square dating back to 1793 for its affordable and good quality menus and its music at night (web site) and Le Moulin de la Galette nearby for its menu, specially at lunchtime, its lovely courtyard and, of course, the Moulin de la Galette windmill above the restaurant (web site).
Place du Tertre was the heart of the prestigious Benedictine Montmartre Abbey, established in 1133 by King Louis VI. Saint Pierre de Montmartre, the abbey church, a few meters from Place du Tertre, was consecrated by Pope Eugenius III in 1147. Montmartre Abbey thrived through the centuries and until the French revolution under the patronage of the Kings of France. All what remains of the abbey are a vineyard and Saint Pierre de Montmartre, the oldest church in Paris.
Place du Tertre was opened to the public in 1635 as Montmartre village central square. From the end of the 18th century until World War One, the whole Montmartre Boheme could been seen here: painters, songwriters and poets.
Place du Tertre artists remind us of the heroic time when Montmartre was setting the trend of modern art. Penniless artists, including Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh and Picasso, lived in Montmartre in late 19th / early 20th centuries. Their memory is kept in the charming Montmartre Museum.
