Sunrise magic over one of the numerous staircases of Montmartre in Paris (France, 2020)
SONY ILCE-7M3
SONY FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
40mm ƒ/4.0 1/60s ISO 200
4000 x 6000 px / 300 dpi
Montmartre is a large hill in Paris’ 18th arrondissement. It is 130 m high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank in the northern section of the city.
Montmartre is primarily known for its artistic history, the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur on its summit, and as a nightclub district. The other church on the hill, Saint Pierre de Montmartre, built in 1147, was the church of the prestigious Montmartre Abbey.
But apart from these magnificent buildings, what characterizes Montmartre are also its numerous staircases. Montmartre has a total of 38 staircases listed according to three categories: those ensuring the connection between tracks at different levels (32), those between sidewalks and pavements at different levels (5) and those between a track and a structure (1) .
The most frequent configuration corresponds to a central flight bordered by two series of side terraces as here in this photograph taken on Rue Maurice Utrillo. Sometimes the layout of the track is asymmetrical and the flights are only bordered by terraces on one side. The terraces are often private and form a sort of open-air vestibule, between the public space of the staircase and that, private, of the entrance halls of the riverside buildings.
