Black Montmartre Walking Tour

5.0 (13 reviews) 2 hours Free cancellation

out of 5

13 reviews

5.0

Moulin de La Galette — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

Eglise Saint-Pierre — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

What do medieval winemaking nuns have to do with a 19-year-old Black American girl dancing in a banana skirt in Paris?

On this tour, we connect those dots, tracing how Montmartre came to be, and the larger global forces that drew Black Americans, Africans, and Caribbeans to this very special part of Paris.

On this walk, you’ll get:

A clear, engaging history of Montmartre beyond the usual stories

The chance to see the neighborhood’s major sites through a fresh lens

A local guide who knows how to avoid most of the crowds (and pigeons )

A deeper understanding of how movement and migration shape places, and why Montmartre became a crossroads for Black life and culture

Private and Luxury Cultural Tours Historical Tours Walking Tours Small Group Best Conversion Low Supplier Cancellation Rate Low Last Minute Supplier Cancellation Rate

At a glance

Duration: 2 hours
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Up to 10 people
People per booking: 1–10
Guide: English
Operated by: Antonia

Ages: Youth (13–17 years) · Adults (18–99 years)

What is included

Included

Included: Tips on what else to see, eat and do in the area
Included: Tour is rain or shine (it rains often in Paris , but usually lightly)
Included: Guided by a local who cares about the neighborhood!

Not included

Not included: Meals
Not included: Gratuities
Not included: We won't be entering Sacré Cœur, but will be taking in the views.
Not included: We won't be entering the Moulin Rouge

Itinerary

Vigne du Clos Montmartre

10 min

We begin at a small vineyard tucked among apartment buildings, a reminder that Montmartre was once covered in vines. The wine sold here set the stage for a community that would eventually welcome an extension of the Harlem Renaissance.
La Petite Maison Rose de Montmartre (Since 1920)

Passing by

We pass one of Montmartre’s most photographed streets and buildings, a picture-perfect moment.
Eglise Saint-Pierre de Montmartre

15 min

One of the oldest churches in Paris, Saint-Pierre marks Montmartre as sacred ground and a site of pilgrimage for African and Caribbean seminaries in the early 1800s. For years, people from all over the world climbed this hill, tracing the steps of Montmartre’s legendary bishop.
Basilique Du Sacre-Coeur De Montmartre

15 min Admission not included

We won’t enter the basilica, but we’ll unpack the tragic events that led to its construction and how they shaped Montmartre’s rebellious, outsider culture.
Place Du Tertre

10 min

At Montmartre’s center, where art and politics collide, we revisit post–World War I celebrations honoring Black soldiers, alongside a lesser-known and more troubling commemoration held in the square.
Le Bateau-Lavoir

10 min Admission not included

Best known as Picasso's studio, the Bateau-Lavoir gives us a moment to step beyond the famous names and look at the work of lesser-known Black artists who passed through Montmartre, artists shaped by the same precarity, and experimentation that defined the hill.
Stop 7

Passing by

We pass by the Moulin de la Galette, once a windmill turned popular dance spot, where working-class Parisians, artists, and outsiders gathered.
Moulin Rouge

5 min Admission not included

In front of the Moulin Rouge, we see how Montmartre’s rebellious spirit spilled downhill into Pigalle’s looser nightlife, creating a rare space that welcomed Black performers.
Stop 9

15 min

We stop at the former site of Chez Josephine, where we unpack the performance that made Josephine Baker a star and how it clashed with the ideals of the Negritude movement.
Stop 10

15 min

We end at the former site of Le Grand Duc, a hugely popular jazz club and pillar of Paris’s Jazz Age. Here, we trace how that era came to an end and where Black communities in Paris took root afterward.