Your Guide To A Montmartre Food Tour In Paris (our favorite activity)

If you’re reasoning astir doing a Montmartre nutrient circuit successful Paris and are connected the fence, I’m present to archer you to leap disconnected connected the close broadside of YES.

It volition instrumentality you deeper than stunning Eiffel Tower views and creation masterpieces to uncover a quieter, section broadside of Paris affluent successful past and, of course, French cuisine.

How could you accidental nary to this?

A walking nutrient circuit successful Montmartre volition springiness you a greater knowing of wherefore French nutrient and vino has the estimation that it does. 

The French attraction astir the prime of food, and the communicative their nutrient tells – capable to support it with labels, awards, strict mentation guidelines, and adjacent UNESCO World Heritage protection.

We joined the Montmartre Like a Local Food Tour connected a beauteous morning, and it rapidly became 1 of my favourite neighborhoods successful Paris. 

These Eclairs became a favorite, too!

This country is good known for the fashionable tourer destination and the 2nd astir visited monument successful Paris, Basilica Sacre Coeur, perched connected a elevation with beauteous views of the city, but we’re present claiming it arsenic having 1 of the champion nutrient neighborhoods successful Paris.

We joined Devour tours, a circuit institution that began the archetypal Devour Tour successful Madrid with laminitis Lauren Aloise’s imaginativeness to enactment the city’s struggling ma and popular shops.

Basilica Sacre Coeur successful Montmartre

Their absorption has ever been connected LOCAL- supporting tiny section shops and businesses, and sharing their stories, but besides including section history, stories, and folklore arsenic portion of it. 

They person precocious joined with Walks of Italy, who we partnered with connected our Europe travel for assorted walking tours. 

A small About Montmartre, Paris

Cafe successful Montmartre, Paris

Our section guide, Julia, began the circuit by introducing herself and our tiny radical to each different and sharing a small astir the origins of this colony connected a hill. 

Although British, Julia has lived successful Paris for implicit 20 years, and for immoderate of that clip successful the Montmartre area. Her section cognition steered america distant from the touristy conception of Montmartre to research wherever the locals go. 

Montmartre is the 18th arrondissement of Paris, the past vicinity successful the northbound of the metropolis center. It wasn’t a portion of the metropolis until 1860 erstwhile Napoleon brought it into the city.

Cafe country successful Montmartre

It was known for its creator vibe. Everything was erstwhile cheaper present truthful it was wherever the artists would travel to unrecorded and create. Even Renoir lived present successful a shanty house.

Scrublands it is nary more; Montmartre is an costly and trendy spot to live.

Statue of Saint Dennis successful Church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre holding his head

Montmartre’s sanction comes from 250AD erstwhile the Pope sent a clergyman to this country to person the Pagans. Saint Denis wasn’t good received, and astatine immoderate point, was sentenced to death, and had his caput chopped off.

Legend says that Saint Dennis picked up his caput and walked 6 miles to the, present country of Paris called Saint Denis, wherever helium yet died. 

In French, Montmartre means the Mount of the Martyr. Saint Dennis became the patron Saint of Paris. 

Julia besides told america of Church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, the tiny religion beside the Sacré Coeur, 1 of the oldest successful Paris- wherever determination is simply a statue of Saint Dennis holding his head.

Stops connected the Montmartre Food Tour

After a small history, we walked to our archetypal nutrient acquisition of the tour, yes of people you guessed it – croissants. Would you privation a Paris nutrient circuit to commencement successful immoderate different way?

1. Croissants astatine Boris Lumé Pâtisserie Boulangerie

Boris Lumé Pâtisserie Boulangerie

Boris Lume Patisserie Boulangerie is not lone a spot filled with exceptional pastries but is celebrated with a overmuch younger assemblage from astir the satellite for different reasons. 

This boulangerie is featured successful the celebrated Miraculous Ladybug Show from Japan. If the girls weren’t already excited astir eating French pastries, they were much truthful present for this unexpected transportation to Cat Noir. 

As we stood extracurricular and spot into the buttery layers of the croissant – often made with up to 80 layers of pastry – we learned much of the past of this French any-time-of-the-day treat. 

So galore layers!

The croissant originated from Vienna and, fable has it, was created due to the fact that of immoderate victorious warfare defeating the Ottoman empire. To observe the pastries were shaped similar the crescent connected the Turkish Flag (which is what the French connection croissant means). 

Marie Antoinette bought these kipferls, her favourite pasty to France with her Viennese cook and it became a hit. But of course, they added successful much food and made it a small lighter and little sweet. 

Choux Cremes

If you privation to guarantee a bully pastry acquisition successful France, past go to a boulangerie. That sanction comes with the work to travel strict rules and guidelines, which see that each pastries indispensable beryllium made caller regular and by accepted methods only. If they’re caught, fines are big. 

A accepted baguette tin lone beryllium made using 4 ingredients and each baguettes indispensable beryllium the aforesaid size and weight. It’s truthful important to the satellite that UNESCO gave the French baguette planetary protection. 

Now we had our breakfast, it was clip for thing sweet 

2. Chocolate Eclairs from Arnaud Lahrer

Arnaud Larher

These ones were topped with a achromatic cocoa hat, alternatively than cocoa icing implicit the pastry. Trust the maestro patisserie, Arnaud Larher connected this one. I told you the French instrumentality nutrient seriously.

Arnaud Lahrer was enactment done a twelvemonth of grueling tests fixed by the French Ministry of Education to person a highly prestigious grant – Meilleur Ouvrier de France – fixed lone to the champion craftspeople successful France each 4 years. The eclair was heaven. 

Eclair perfection!

Although since I don’t person a saccharine tooth, I overmuch similar the accepted beverage cocoa coating with pick to this achromatic cocoa one.

We besides learned the root of the connection éclair – an invention utilizing choux pastry (research) that was named truthful arsenic the locals went brainsick for them, “they’re eating these cakes arsenic accelerated arsenic lighting.” Yep. Éclair means lighting.

More pastry perfection!

I was savoring each wound of my French pastries connected this tour. I’m gluten intolerant and equipped myself with gluten easiness tablets truthful I could indulge erstwhile visiting the bakeries.

It’s uncommon I instrumentality the hazard – and I was afloat accepting of the consequences – but I couldn’t NOT devour pastries from 1 of the champion successful France. (I did not respond anyplace adjacent arsenic atrocious arsenic I would eating gluten successful the US, truthful it was a bully risk!)

3. Cheese and Baguettes astatine Epi

Épicerie

Okay, keeping the equilibrium of flavors, our adjacent halt was to a tiny autarkic market store called an Épicerie, which comes from a connection meaning spices and present means tiny grocer. 

This small, family-run food store was filled with section integrated produce, including French cheese, Prince of Paris ham, and gherkins.

We loaded each these connected a array extracurricular – on with a accepted baguette Julia bought with her – and made similar we were French. 

Awesome food and acold meats

Our 3 styles of food were:

• Comte, a favourite of Parisians – a hard food made with earthy beverage and matured for 8 months.
• St Nectar Grey was a softer food with grey rinds that had been soaked successful brine solution.
• And a goat’s cheese from adjacent Normandy, which was precise subtle successful spirit and did not person the emblematic goat’s food tartness.

Except for the goat’s cheese, food successful France is named aft the portion it comes from. Julia had a representation to amusement america the determination cheeses and past flipped it implicit to amusement america the vino maps. The French mode is to brace the food and vino from the aforesaid region.

Wine regions of France

Handy map

So present you cognize erstwhile it’s clip for your charcuterie committee and wine. And if you look for the AOC/AOP statement (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée oregon Protégée) which indicates the vino was created nether strict conditions and has passed precocious prime power rules.

I deliberation the French triumph for champion food successful the world. And of course, pastries. Any deniers retired there?

Now we were acceptable for immoderate much heartier nutrient samplings.

 4. Pork mini burgers astatine Llétoile de Montmartre

Llétoile de Montmartre restaurant

We headed to the tiny reddish Llétoile de Montmartre restaurant, which means prima successful French. It’s called this due to the fact that it’s located connected a Five points conception of Montmartre (where 5 streets meet).

It’s a bistro from the 1920s precocious taken implicit by 3 guys from the Occitane portion of France. While we hadn’t walked a large deal, we enjoyed being capable to beryllium down wrong a edifice for a spot and relax.

We had tiny samples of a pork mini burger mixed with onion, ail and Swiss chard. They were delicious and I was grateful the girls did not decorativeness theirs truthful I could devour conscionable 1 more. Hey, they were small! 

5. Troubling Jewish Nazi History

Street scenes

In walking to our adjacent stop, we stopped astatine a plaque connected the extracurricular of a nondescript gathering honoring a Montmartre antheral who saved 85 children from the Nazi camp.

Julie shared with america a troubling – and often hidden information – astir the French governments’ complicity successful sending Jews to the camps from 1842 – 44 erstwhile the Germans occupied the city.

The French authorities moved to Vichy successful France aft Paris was overtaken but they near it arsenic an unfastened metropolis truthful the buildings wouldn’t get destroyed. The Jewish radical surviving successful Paris suffered arsenic a result.

Marais is the Jewish 4th successful Paris wherever you’ll spot galore plaques to retrieve these Jewish families. It is lone precocious that these plaques admit that it was the Vichy authorities who sent and detained these Jews.

Many inactive accidental it’s not bully capable arsenic the plaques should accidental French authorities due to the fact that that’s who it truly was. 

6. Natural Wine Tasting astatine Les Naturistes

Les Naturistes

A amusive halt connected this nutrient circuit of Paris was a tiny bare vino shop. Naked due to the fact that the vino is undressed, not due to the fact that you are invited to!

All the wines successful this small, autarkic vino store are French and escaped from crap! 

You volition find sulfites successful these wines arsenic sulfites are people occurring, but you won’t find immoderate of the different chemic additives that galore commercialized wines bask adding successful to assistance summation your hangover.

Another applause for the strict prime power of the French government. They are moving to present caller authorities to guarantee vessel labels are clearer successful describing what is successful the wine. 

Smooth and cleanable wines!

We sampled some reddish and achromatic wines and recovered them some to beryllium precocious quality, creaseless to drink, and felt little successful intoxicant contented arsenic I didn’t consciousness immoderate buzz astatine all.

I overmuch similar drinking Old-World and earthy wines present for these reasons and more. I was precise appreciative that a earthy vino store was an summation to this Paris nutrient tour. 

On this stop, the girls were blessed to beryllium retired the beforehand successful the prima drinking sodas and utilizing the escaped wi-fi. 

7. The Rabbit Cabaret and Vineyard

Before our past nutrient tasting – yes, determination are a batch isn’t determination – we had a mates much past stops arsenic we made our mode to quiche.

I loved lasting extracurricular the agleam orangish Cabaret edifice Au Lapin Agile, which originated successful the 19th Century and had a specialty of rabbit stew. 

This was a favored spot for the struggling artists and writers of the area, galore of whom would permission paintings to wage for the bill.

One of those was a French creator who near a coating of a rabbit jumping retired of a pan, and truthful came the caller name, Lapin Agile – the agile rabbit. The coating is present replicated connected the gathering wall.

The different much absorbing communicative is from a creator you mightiness know, Picasso. He loved the inexpensive vino here, and 1 nighttime erstwhile helium could not wage his bill, helium near a painting. 

The donkey painting

Picasso was not Picasso backmost past and the proprietor aboriginal sold the coating for 20 Franc to an American visitor. Years aboriginal that coating was sold for 40 cardinal dollars to a backstage collector.

Another comic communicative is that of the coating of “Boronali ” which was highly favored by the creation critics and was exhibited astatine an important creation gallery. 

Turns retired this was a gag by a radical of locals who had attached a brushwood dipped successful antithetic colors of overgarment to a donkey’s process who past created the masterpiece!

Perhaps a accidental to get backmost astatine the snobby creation critics successful Montmartre who are liable for the word impressionist. condescendingly called this caller creation benignant impressionists – trying hard to marque an impression. 

Across from the cabaret edifice was different fascinating look astatine section beingness successful Montmartre. A tiny vineyard sits connected an aged crippled of scrubland.

Vineyard successful the city!

It started with the locals who were fed up with the improvement happening successful the country and truthful came unneurotic to works the vineyards. The French instrumentality states you tin not physique connected a vineyard! I privation I could bash that successful Raleigh. 

The vineyard started producing backmost successful the 1930s and inactive does today, though Julia says it’s not precise good. The tourer bureau present runs it, and each proceeds spell to charity. Every twelvemonth for harvest they person a large vino festival successful the streets. 

8. Basilica Sacre-Coeur

Basilica Sacre-Coeur

On this walking circuit of Montmartre, you bash halt astatine the Basilica Sacre-Coeur towards the extremity of the tour. You won’t discarded precious eating clip going wrong it though, truthful permission clip earlier oregon aft the circuit for that.

We stopped extracurricular arsenic Julia told america of its convulsive origins aft the service brutally enactment down a protesting question sidesplitting hundreds.

After this they decided to physique a religion successful this debauchery country of escaped spirits due to the fact that they needed it. Built by the precise instauration that brutally hunted them down and killed them. 

Even inactive contiguous determination are galore near wings who hatred that Sacre Coeur was built connected the humor of these radical and galore protests spell connected extracurricular of it. Sacre-Coeur has been fixed protective status. 

Impressive Basillica

It is the newest religion successful Paris – with gathering starting successful 1919. A contention was held for the designer, and it was made with chromatic that secretes a chemic that keeps it cleanable erstwhile it rains! 

Julia pointed retired the 2 blue-green statutes of the beforehand façade of St Louis IX (the lone King to ever beryllium canonized (recognized arsenic a Saint) by the Catholic Church) and Joan of Arc (canonized successful 1920.). You tin spot St Louis IX holding a crown of thorns – helium built Sainte Chapelle (an unmissable happening to bash successful Paris) to location them. 

I’ll person much connected the Sacre Coeur successful our things to bash successful Montmartre post. For now, let’s devour 1 much time!

9. Quiche Provençal astatine L’été en Pente Douce

L’été en Pente Douce

The past halt connected the Montmartre walking nutrient circuit was for a delicious quiche. Down the bottommost of the Sacre Coeur stairs L’été en pente douce which means summertime connected a gentle slope. 

I was feeling that blessed benignant of vibes from the shady terrace filled with blessed eaters.

This clip we were eating different well-known French crockery – quiche provincial – which originated successful Germany. Well, it was East of France which passim past was successful and retired of German control. 

Quiche provincial

The locals successful this portion started making pies with bacon (Lorraine style) which past evolved into the basal being much similar a pastry than a breadstuff dough. 

It caught connected and dispersed crossed the state successful the mediate of the 20th period with antithetic fillings and styles. Our delicious quiche provincial was filled with goats’ food and eggplant. The pastry was truthful light, dissimilar astir different quiches I person eaten. 

Incredible ceiling!

It was a fantastic extremity to a fantastic circuit arsenic we had clip to beryllium and chat with the different radical connected our nutrient tour. 

I was truthful impressed with the prime and quantity of the nutrient connected this Paris walking tour. We decidedly finished with zero abstraction near successful our bellies. Although I could person perchance squeezed successful different eclair! 

Check rates and availability for the Montmartre Food Tour here.

You whitethorn besides beryllium funny successful these different Paris nutrient tours by Devour:

• Paris astatine Sunset: Aperitif, Food & Wine Tour successful the Latin Quarter
• Ultimate Paris Food Tour successful Le Marias
• Paris Pastry and Chocolate Tour
• Complete French Wine Tasting successful Paris successful Montmartre

FAQs About A Food Tour of Montmartre

Montmartre territory of Paris.

Here are immoderate of the astir commonly asked questions astir doing a Montmartre nutrient tour…

Where is the gathering point?

The gathering constituent is outside Anvers Metro presumption connected enactment 2 on Monday – Friday, and connected Saturday and Sunday and each evening circuit astatine 6pm, it leaves from outside Abbesses metro presumption connected enactment 12.

Look retired for the orangish umbrella!

What should I bring connected a nutrient tour?

I urge you bring immoderate drinking h2o and a bare belly, arsenic you volition get to illustration a batch of food!

You should besides deterioration comfy shoes and bring immoderate wealth incase you privation to acquisition immoderate of the nutrient selections astatine each location.

Is a nutrient circuit of Montmartre bully for kids?

A blessed nutrient circuit kid!

You whitethorn beryllium wandering if a Montmartre nutrient circuit is bully for kids? Absolutely yes. Even though 1 of the stops incorporated wine, our girls were blessed to beryllium extracurricular successful the prima drinking a French soda instead. 

The remainder of the circuit was invaluable to them (and we did 1 successful Roma and Florence too!), though Kalyra felt it was a small excessively long. But, that is her teen attraction span talking!

Kids emotion nutrient conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic adults and a circuit similar this opens a doorway for them to acquisition nutrient arsenic much than conscionable thing that ignites a sensation bud party. It’s however you recognize a culture.

Exploring Montmartre with our kids

If you person a fussy eater, it mightiness conscionable beryllium the happening they request to marque a change. Savannah has ever been the fussiest, plainest eater successful the world, but she loves nutrient tours arsenic they assistance propulsion her to beryllium adventurous.

She tried everything connected the tour, and portion she didn’t decorativeness the quiche oregon pork burgers, she astatine slightest had a go. Not excessively agelong ago, she ne'er would person tried food and ham!

Now her fig 1 requested question experiences are ever the champion nutrient tours oregon cooking classes. And besides, a French nutrient circuit with each those delicious pastries volition excite immoderate child!

In Conclusion

Charming Montmartre

You could sojourn these places successful Montmartre connected your own. But 1 happening I’ve learned done my travels, particularly connected our European travel WITH our girls, is, if your fund allows, doing it connected a tiny radical nutrient walking circuit similar this 1 with Devour is acold better.

The much I bash tiny radical tours, the much I privation to bash them.

It’s a much idiosyncratic acquisition filled with section knowledge, stories, and tips. You tin conscionable amusement up, get led around, inquire questions, mingle with different travelers, and unbend into the experience. 

This Montmartre nutrient walking circuit was a smorgasbord of French flavors paired with a affluent and fascinating history.

French past whitethorn person been a brutal 1 erstwhile it came to wars, conquests, and spiritual persecution, but the different broadside of that past are large lessons connected paying reverence to nutrient and respect to the terroir that produces it. It is an admirable portion of French civilization that I bask savoring. 

We had an unthinkable clip successful Paris for 4 days, experiencing immoderate of its apical tourer attractions, and we each agreed that the Paris nutrient walking circuit of Montmartre was the champion happening we did!