Musée de Montmartre

The Musee de Montmartre sits within a seventeen-century building known as the Maison du Bel Air, making it one of the oldest structures still standing on the hill. In the late nineteenth century, as Paris underwent rapid modernization, the local residents of Montmartre grew concerned that their village identity was disappearing. They formed the Old Montmartre Society in eighteen eighty-six to collect archives, posters, and paintings to preserve the neighborhood's unique history. This collection eventually evolved into the museum you see today.