Moulin Rouge
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Continue along Boulevard de Clichy and turn right onto Avenue Rachel and the Cimetière de Montmartre will be straight ahead of you. Established by Napoleon, along with Montparnasse and Père Lachaise to clear downtown Paris of unhygienic old cemeteries, the Cimetière de Montmartre was established in 1798, and was extended to its present 12 hectares (30 acres) in 1825. Not as visited as some of the city’s other graveyards, it is still a charming and evocative place to stroll.
Some of Paris’ best-loved composers and writers are buried here, including Hector Berlioz and Jacques Offenbach, Alexandre Dumas fils and the German poet Heinrich Heine. The painter Degas, film director François Truffaut and Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky are also buried here.
Nearby, close to Square Roland Dorgelès, is another smaller cemetery: Cimetière St-Vincent. This is the final resting place of the Swiss composer Arthur Honeggar and the French artist Maurice Utrillo, whose paintings have done more to immortalise Montmartre’s artistic legacy than almost anyone else.
Cimetière de Montmartre
Opening times: 8am–5.30pm Mon–Fri, 8.30am–5.30pm Sat, 9am–5.30pm Sun
(closes 6pm daily in summer)
Tel: 01. 53 42 36 30
End of walks.
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