A Sunday in Montmartre, away from the crowds

Start early, and from the top. At nine o’clock the steps of the Sacré-Cœur are almost empty and the view reaches as far as the Montparnasse tower. For an hour you will feel like you are in a village — which is what Montmartre was until 1860.

Then head down via rue Saint-Vincent and the Clos Montmartre, the last vineyard in Paris, then rue de l’Abreuvoir. These are the most photographed hundred metres on the hill: at ten o’clock they are still yours. Place du Tertre can be skipped without regret.

Finish at the bottom on rue des Martyrs, where food shops line six hundred metres of street. You can find lunch there without a booking before one o’clock. Les Toits de Montmartre is five minutes away: the afternoon nap is part of the route.