Montmartre was once a tranquil village packed with vines and windmills, but is now one of the most popular tourist spots in Paris – For good reason. This iconic hilltop neighbourhood is always bustling with locals and tourists alike, to admire it’s striped awnings, cobblestone streets, and lively plazas rest at the foot of its pilgrimage-worthy basilica, Sacre Coeur.

The famous sacred structure and classic Parisian artisanal shops encourage plenty of foot traffic, but Montmartre’s ceaseless activity invites more than relaxed visitors along its cinema-worthy slinking streets, lined with crooked ivy-clad buildings—entrepreneurial misfits add a picaresque slant to Montmartre’s fairytale charming street scenes.

Montmartre typifies all things quintessentially Parisian, from terrace cafes to romping bars and clubs, drunken can-can dancers to budding street artists and performers, bourgeois-bohemian apartments to tiny cobblestone streets.

Start a day trip in Montmartre by the infamous Moulin Rouge. From there, then climb up the hill to artist studios, statues of pop stars, and the church at the highest point of Paris; Basilica Sacré Coeur. You will discover what it is that made Vincent Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali want to call this eclectic district home.

The main attraction of Montmartre is the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. The iconic Basilique is s a symbol of the former struggle between the conservative Catholic old guard and the secular, republican radicals.

If there is no haze, climbing up to the top of Montmartre to Sacré-Cœur gives you one of the best views in Paris. It is the steepest quarter of Paris, and I strongly advise you to take the elevator from the metro station if you are not wearing comfortable walking shoes…