Musée de Montmartre & Renoir gardens

At the heart of Montmartre village, close to the Sacré-Coeur basilica the 17th-century Bel Air House holds one of the capital’s most charming museums. The house owes its fame to the artists who lived and worked there: including the great Impressionist master Auguste Renoir, as well as Suzanne Valadon, Émile Bernard and the Fauve artists Émile-Othon Friesz and Raoul Dufy.

The cabaret capital

Set in an authentic period decor, photos, canvases and posters pay homage to Montmartre icons like the Moulin Rouge. And the French Cancan and the Chat Noir Cabaret have a whole room devoted to them. Meanwhile, an immersive show in the Claude Charpentier room traces the history and cultural effervescence of Montmartre through the eyes of the painter Suzanne Valadon.

Continue the visit by exploring the four rooms of Valadon’s studio-apartment, restored to look as it did at the time. Behind bay windows, the bedroom of her son, the artist Maurice Utrillo, is impressively true-to-life. Meanwhile, the adjacent Hôtel Demarne building holds temporary exhibitions.

A patch of countryside in the heart of Paris

The museum’s setting alone warrants the visit: the Renoir Gardens provided the backdrop for one of Renoir’s masterpieces, The Swing, on display at the Musée d’Orsay, and today offer an unprecedented view over the north of Paris and the Clos Montmartre vineyard.