Montmarte Scavenger Hunt

Made famous by the movie Amélie, the neighborhood of Montmartre in the 18th arrondissment is a must-see destination in Paris. Situated at the highest point of the city, Montmartre offers an unmatched panoramic view. The Travel Study program scheduled a scavenger hunt to get us acquainted with this unique district of Paris.

The scavenger hunt didn't start until 3:00 in the afternoon, which was lucky because it was quite the rainy morning! Not going to let weather get in the way, my friends and I decided to arrive early to check out Sacre-Coeur Basilica.

After ascending the stairs, we were treated with this view:

Even on a foggy morning, Paris is such a beautiful city. We entered the basilica and appreciated the brilliant mosaics and its history. Unfortunately, pictures weren't allowed inside, so this is a sight you will have to see for yourself!

We grabbed a quick lunch of delicious soupe à l’oignon gratinée before meeting the Travel Study group near the Moulin Rouge. The scavenger hunt festivities were about to begin!

A classic French onion soup is made from meat stock, onions, gruyere cheese, and croutons - perfect for a rainy day

Each group had a list of sites to stop at and an hour and a half time limit. The first group back would win a crêpe dinner – motivated by this, we were ready to start our adventure. Here’s a few of our highlights! A huge thank you to Bethanie for taking the scavenger hunt pictures!

First stop was the Moulin Rouge. The name means “Red Windmill” and this site is accredited with introducing the cabaret to Europe. This was the first place to do the iconic can-can dance - which we had to perform!

Let’s just say dancing was not our forte. Next, we went to L’église Saint-Jean de Montmartre. This beautiful church was built by architect Anatole de Baudot in 1894 and used reinforced concrete, a technique which would later revolutionize construction in this era. We snapped our pictures just as the church bells started to ring.

From there, we went to the nearby Place des Abbesses to take a picture at the metro stop. The old signs represent classic Parisian aesthetics and have been saved by the city for the sake of art.

Tip: If exiting at this metro stop to get to Montmartre, be sure to take the elevator! This stop is VERY far underground and requires a lengthy spiral staircase to reach ground level.

Continuing on, the next stop was Sacre-Coeur basilica. We opted to take the stairs instead of the funiculaire (essentially a little rail car that shuttles you to the top of the hill). Slightly out of breath, our efforts were rewarded with this view and the blue skies.

Passing by Sacre-Coeur and over the hill, we went to the Lapin Agile. This name means the “Agile Rabbit” and is home to another famous Montmartre cabaret. For this stop, we had to snap a picture of the rabbit on the building!

Descending back down the hill, we stopped at Square Suzanne Buisson to snap a picture of the statue of Saint Denis. As the first bishop of Paris in the third century, legend states that Saint Denis was beheaded in Montmartre and then he picked up his head and walked six kilometers north before dying at what is now the Saint Denis Basilica. Across Paris, Saint Denis is most often depicted holding his decapitated head – a little morbid, but proof of the extensive history one can find in Paris.

After tracking down the statue, we went to nearby Place de Dalida. Yolanda Cristina Gigliotti was a famous singer and actress who went by the name Dalida. Though she spent most of her time in France, she is of Egyptian and Italian origins. Montmartre was her favorite neighborhood in Paris and, following her death, the city dedicated this square to honor her.

Our final stop before rejoining the group was at Place Marcel Aymé which features the sculpture Le Passe-Muraille (The Passer-Through-Walls). The story written by Aymé follows the story of Dutilleul, a civil servant who learns that he has the ability to walk through walls.

I'm not really sure why we're posing this way, but we definitely appreciated the artwork!

We raced back to the café meeting place, but another group had beat us there already. Though we didn’t win, we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon in Montmartre. The program provided us a fun way to get to know our peers, become acquainted with this unique area of Paris, and learn some history about the city. Since this post, I have already been back to Montmartre with some friends and we’re planning on going back soon. Week one of Travel Study is complete and I couldn’t be happier with how it went!

After the scavenger hunt, we got dinner in Montmartre, appreciating this beautiful sunset to close out our first week in Paris