Les Artistes de la Place du Tertre

You are standing at the heart of what was once the village square of Montmartre. Long before this hilltop became a global symbol of art, it was the site of the Benedictine Montmartre Abbey, established in the twelfth century. The square opened to the public in sixteen thirty-five, serving as a quiet center for the local vineyards and farms that covered the hillside. It remained a world apart from the rest of Paris for centuries, maintaining a rural, village identity even as the city expanded toward its base.