The train heads for the Café de 2 Moulins, made famous by Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 film Amélie, then rattles past Bateau Lavoir on Place Emile-Goudeau, where Picasso invented cubism. We saw parts of the neighbourhood we’d never explored before. It’s a real bone-shaker, but this 40-minute ride clattering through the streets of Montmartre is well worth a little discomfort.

We booked tickets on the Petit Train de Montmartre, a little road train that departs from Place Blanche, opposite the Moulin Rouge, and winds its way uphill to the glistening white dome of the Sacré-Coeur. During the Belle Epoque, from the late 19th Century to early 20th, low rents and a creative atmosphere attracted some of the art world’s biggest names: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali all lived and worked here. This was once Europe’s hippest artists quarter. Having explored those galleries on previous visits, we elected instead to head for Paris’s highest hill, Montmartre, in the 18th arrondissement.

This city has inspired artists for centuries, and you could easily spend your entire break looking at masterpieces in the Louvre, Musée de l’Orangerie and Musée d’Orsay. You should definitely check out the art galleries. The pass also gives you fast-track access to many attractions, so you can skip the queues. The free attractions include all the usual suspects – the opera house, Notre Dame cathedral and the Château de Versailles, to name just three – as well as the city’s best museums and galleries. Not only does this give you free entry to more than 60 of the city’s most famous attractions, it also entitles you to free travel on the Metro, buses and city centre RER rail network. Talking of planning, I’d recommend buying a Paris Pass. Decorated in imposing Napoleonic style – all chandeliers, statues and Scottish granite columns – the Grand Salon bar is the perfect place for a pastis while you plan your break. We loved the Hilton, with its friendly staff, marble-columned lobby and beautiful Grand Salon. Here you’ll find two of Europe’s best department stores – Printemps and Galeries Lafayette – on the elegant Boulevard Haussmann.

It’s also 10 minutes’ walk from the iconic Palais Garnier opera house and a short stroll from the Grands Boulevards, the city’s premier shopping destination.

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