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Montmartre Funicular

Funiculaire de Montmartre

ABOVE: A car arrives at the lower station of the Funiculaire de Montmartre.

By Durant Imboden

For mobility-impaired or out-of-shape tourists visiting the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur, the Place du Tertre, and other attractions atop the Butte of Montmartre, the steep uphill climb from the Place St-Pierre can be difficult or impossible.

Fortunately, there are other choices--among them, the Funiculaire de Montmartre, which serves an elevator between the foot of the hill and the rue du Cardinal DuBois, where a final (and relatively short) flight of steps leads up to the basilica.

The Montmartre Funicular opened for business in 1900. It originally relied on hydraulic power for the ascent and gravity for the trip downhill; the hydraulic system was replaced by an electric motor in 1930, and the funicular was completely rebuilt in 1991.

The current funicular has two 60-passenger cars, which run on parallel tracks that ascend 36 meters or 118 feet between the lower and upper stations. Each car operates independently, like an elevator (and unlike the many funiculars where each car is a counterweight to the other).

Riding the Funiculaire de Montmartre

The Montmartre Funicular is operated by RATP, the Parisian regional transport authority that runs the Métro subway network and the RER commuter-rail lines.

To pay your fare, use any RATP transit ticket or pass, the tourist-oriented Paris Visite pass,  the RATP's Navigo Jour one-day travel card, the Navigo Easy stored-value card, and other RATP passes. See our Paris Transit Fares and Tickets page for more details.

If you don't have a ticket or pass, you can buy one in the upper or lower station. Or you can simply scan your bank or debit card with the funicular's contactless payment system. (You can use your card for up to four people at a time.)

The funicular's hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 12:45 a.m., seven days a week.

Alternatives to the Montmartre Funicular

Your cheapest alternative to riding the funicular is to walk uphill. (That's what we do; it's a good way to save money, get exercise, and avoid waiting for a short ride.)

Otherwise, you can take the RATP's Montmartrobus, a compact bus that runs between the Place Pigalle and the Mairie of the 18th arrondissement via the Butte Montmartre every 12 minutes from early morning until mid-evening. Another option is Le Montmartrain, a rubber-tired tourist train that departs the Place Pigalle every 45 minutes for the Butte Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur.

About the author:

Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (including Paris for Visitors) in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post.

For more information, see About our site, press clippings, and reader testimonials.

Inset photo copyright © Paris Tourist Office.
Photographer: Amélie Dupont.

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