My third installment of seeing France through the lense of a quilter dives into the neighborhood of Montmartre, Paris. This iconic neighborhood is like an improv quilt itself with a history of bohemian resident artist lifestyle to the likes of Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and film backdrops like Amelie.
Quilters don’t just find inspiration in fabric stores—they find it in:
- peeling paint
- other art forms
- wrought iron details
- cemetery shapes
- color palettes on buildings
All of these are in abundance in the eclectic Montmartre. Conclusion: There are a ton of reasons for a quilter to want to visit Montmartre!
Don’t miss my first round of a quilter in Paris in this post: A Quilter in Paris: Treasure Hunting at the Saint Ouen Flea Market and the second installation: A Quilter in France: Fabric Shopping in Montmartre.
Provocative Street Art
For urban travel destinations, street art tours are a great way to learn about the politics, culture, and history of a city and country. It’s a unique glimpse into what people care about. Just like we have social justice quilts, this theme is often reflected in street art.
Street art, not to be confused with vandalism, is colorful, racy, and brutally honest. Artists often sign their work and/or have a particular style easily recognized. I also learned, it’s not always spray paint. It can be paper mache like decals, mirrors, tiles, and decoupage. Montmarte was the first time I had seen street art in these different mediums.
My absolute LOL favorite of the day!
I loved how the artist used an existing structure in a wall to create the look of free speech often not being so free. Learning about animal right’s activist, Paul Watson, for the first time was so interesting it prompted me to follow up on his story and global plight. A huge fan of the Kill Bill movies, I was delighted to see The Bride memorialized on a wall.
The End (of the animals) was another theme from an artist I learned about on my tour. It’s always the little girl in red with a different type of living creature, bringing awareness to extinction and endangered animals. Follow the artist here on Instagram.
I cannot stress enough how much fun street art tours are. You get a nice walk, and often learn more about a city or neighborhood than just the street art. A street artist in his own right, Thet Motuo, was my guide. You can book him through Memories France tour company.
Weathered Stone Textures in a Paris Cemetery – WHAAAT?
Visiting a cemetery is not as morbid as one might think. Cemeteries abroad are nothing like what you find in the US. You might not only find the tombs of famous people, but also get a glimpse into how a culture memorialized their loved ones.
Montmartre has a cemetery worthy of an afternoon stroll. A break from the hustle and bustle of a touristy neighborhood, it was quiet, shady, and peaceful. The shapes and structures were inspiring to think of how they could apply to quilt compositions.
Back to the earth with the moss-coated tombs.
Patina + Age + Scale
The Sacre Coeur Basilica makes its impact at the top of the steep hill of Montmartre. The symmetry, stark whiteness, and massive presence command your attention. Imagine these concepts in a bold quilt.
We learned on our foodie tour the reason for the pristine whiteness and the black smeared look in corners and under hangovers is the type of rock it is. While I forget the type of rock, its super power is that it washes itself white in rain. This reasons why it looks black in the parts of the building where rain doesn’t touch.
The top of this hill is where crucifixions used to happen.
Letting it All Settle at the End of the Day
Montmartre’s position on a steep hill is a workout for sure! We ended the day with a foodie tour. Eating abroad is a surprising stressor for me. I often don’t understand what a dish is on the menu. (Imagine if someone literally translated “chicken pot pie” on a US menu!) A good food tour guide tells you about flavor combinations, how dishes originated, and staple restaurants in a city.
I couldn’t help but snap a photo of this corner restaurant. For the eye of a quilter, the color combinations, shapes, and textures are impactful.
The first “bistro” in the world. The word originates from the Russian language when the soldiers would request a beer “quick!”
The town square quieting down at night.
The upstairs of this restaurant, where we tasted cheeses, had this old worlde feel with aged white walls and artist sketches and paraphernalia.
The last store I’ll shout out in Montmarte of interest to quilters is a button shop called Dams Boutons. This tiny little hole-in-the-wall has thousands of buttons to see. Button styles ranged from fancy couture to jouvenile to novelty. I spent quite a bit of time in this shop just looking around.
For all the non-quilt, quilty inspirations all around Montmartre – the cemeteries, the buildings, and the street art – I hope you’ve found inspiration here.
Stay tuned for the next installment of my March 2026 France trip through the eyes of a quilter where I go to the France/German border for a visit to Strasbourg – where the street markets did not disappoint!!
