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Montmartre : Windmills and Vineyard
by Martin Loughlin
Montmartre has sights you would not expect
to find in the heart of a huge city. This hilly neighborhood in the
north of Paris, as well as being famous for its artistic associations,
is also well-known for its picturesque windmills and its
one-of-a-kind-in-Paris vineyard. The windmills have featured in dozens
of paintings, and the most famous one, the Moulin Rouge, still spins
its red neon sails every night.
The other two windmills are both further up
the hill away from the noise and bright lights of the Boulevard Clichy.
Early in the 16th century, when Montmartre was a true
village, there were 13 windmills used to press grapes and grind grain.
Today, only the Moulin de la Galette and the Moulin Radet remain.
The windmills also showed Parisians the
direction of the wind. You can't really enter the windmills to visit
them, but you can get a good look at each one, and it's not difficult
to imagine yourself back in the 16th century.
The Moulin de la Galette (75 Rue Lepic) is
the older of the two, built in 1622, and the subject of one of Renoirs'
more well known paintings. The original mechanism of this mill is
surprisingly still intact. The Moulin Radet (83 Rue Lepic, corner of
Rue Girardon) is now part of an Italian/French restaurant, and is the
more photogenic of the two. You can dine outside here on the terrace at
the restaurant of the same name, or dine inside amidst mirrors and
fancy chandeliers.
Not many people know that Montmartre
actually has a fourth windmill: in the cemetery of Montmartre (main
entrance on Avenue Rachel), a miniature mill is mounted on the graves
of one of the soldiers who defended Paris from the Russian army in
1814.
A short distance away is the last remaining
vineyard in Paris, a tribute to the days when Montmartre had many
vineyards and supplied most of the wine to Paris (Rue St. Vincent).
Along with the vineyards, at one time Montmartre also had several
orchards and small farms. The vineyard produces about 500 bottles of
red wine every year, and is painstakingly maintained by a small team
that is employed by the parks and gardens department of the City of
Paris.
On the first Saturday in October every year,
there is a party and parade in celebration of the harvest – you
can go if you happen to be in Paris at that time. It has been said
however that the wine is more noted for its nostalgic value than its
drinkability! The wine is not cheap to buy, but if you want to
contribute to a good cause you can buy bottles of it at auction; the
proceeds go to the elderly inhabitants of Montmartre.
There's no doubt that the few remaining
windmills and the tiny vineyard help to give this famous and celebrated
area some of its character, and it's rather pleasant to have just a
little taste of the countryside in the midst of the city.
Martin Loughlin
Copyright (c) 2007 - www.paris-hotel-by-district.com CH. All rights reserved.
 Read Martin Loughlin's feature on the history of Montmartre
Read Martin Loughlin's feature on the artists of Montmartre
Read Martin Loughlin's feature on the hills and staircases of Montmartre
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