They were poor and hungry, and they lived in squalid, dirty flats with no hot water or toilets. Millions of visitors come to see where a revolution in art was born in poverty. The artist colony evaporated more than half a century ago, leaving behind a busy commercial district dotted with tourist traps, sleazy bars and strip joints. But it is not the Montmartre of today that draws the pilgrims. It's walking the path of Montmartre's yesterdays, and gazing out at some of Paris' most sweeping vistas.
Modern tourists can opt for the effortless ride to the top of the hill on a funicular railway.
Sacre-Coeur was finally consecrated in 1919. Today's visitors come more often for the views than for the church's renowned Great Mosaic of Christ. Sacre-Coeur is a relative newcomer to the spiritual life of Montmartre. It was converted into the Temple of Reason during the French Revolution of 1789, a time when anti-clerical mobs smashed priceless statues in cathedrals and churches throughout the city. Some lived in the squalid wooden Bateau-Lavoir building, which burned to the ground in 1970.