Funiculaire de Montmartre (Montmartre Funicular)

Last Updated on 30th May 2022 by Sophie Nadeau

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One of the fastest ways to ascend the butte of Montmartre is the funiculaire, a funicular that takes visitors from the base of the 197 steps leading up to the Sacré-Coeur to the basilica itself. Here’s a history of the Funiculaire de Montmartre, as well as how to visit for yourself.

The Montmartre funicular takes visitors up from Place St Pierre to the Butte of Montmartre itself. The upper station of the funicular is located on  rue du Cardinal DuBois. At this point, one final short set of steps will take visitors directly to the Sacré-Coeur itself.

This is the highest natural point of Paris and is where visitors will discover the likes of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, the Place du Tertre (where artists paint outdoors), and la Maison Rose (the famed café painted by many artists during the 20th-century).

The district of Montmartre is a must-see for all visitors to Paris on account of the fact that it boasts a unique ambiance, cobbled lanes, and little houses which escaped the grand Haussmannian renovations of the 19th-century.

Indeed, one of the more unusual facts about Montmartre is that it only became a part of Paris proper in 1860. In order to see everything that this area has to offer, be sure to follow our free and self-guided Montmartre walking tour.

A history of the Montmartre funicular

The history of the funicular in Montmartre dates back to 1900, meaning that it is older than the Paris metro system itself. The beginnings of the funicular started in 1891, when it was decided that a new transportation system would be needed to transport passengers from the base of the hill up to the newly built Sacré-Coeur.

Over the years, the funicular has undergone two major sets of renovation; once in 1931-1935 when the pulley system was transformed from a water based system to an electrical one, and a second time in 1990-1991 when modern cars were adopted.

The modern stations you see at the station today were designed by François Deslaugiers and the cars, designed by Roger Tallon, can transport up to 1300 people each way every hour.

The height that the funicular climbs is 36 metres (118 feet) in just a minute and a half and the system is completely automatic. Unlike many funiculars where each car counter weighs the other, the two cars of the funiculaire de Montmartre operate entirely independently of one another.

How to take the funicular in Montmartre

Open from 6 am until 12:45 am (though the ticket office closes just before midnight), the funicular is run by RATP, Paris’ regional transport system that occupies itself with running metros, buses, and trams in Paris. Passengers can use the same types of metro tickets as for the funicular.

With this being said, you should know before visiting that you’ll need an entirely new metro ticket (or ticket charged up on the Navigo Easy) in order to take the Montmartre funicular as, unlike the RER and metro systems within Paris, you can’t switch between the metro and funicular for free.

The cheapest way to get from Place Saint Pierre to the top of Montmartre is by walking the steps that are alongside the funicular. Alternatively, there is a compact Montmartre bus (also run by RATP) which goes from Place Pigalle to the Mairie of the 18th arrondissement throughout the day.

Last but not least, there is also a small tourist train in operation which runs between Place Pigalle to the Butte Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur every forty-five minutes or so throughout the day.