Why does Paris have so many artists' colonies?
At the end of the 19th century, Parisian industrialisation created a huge demand for studios with large skylights: for painters, sculptors, photographers. Developers built at the back of courtyards lightweight constructions in brick and timber framing, lit by north-facing skylights — the optimal orientation for working light. Many are attributed to the Eiffel firm or to its workers; some, like La Ruche, are indeed assembled from materials salvaged from the Universal Exhibition.
A century and a half later, several of these colonies still exist and still house artists — in a Paris where the square metre has become unaffordable. Tour of five of them, from the most famous to the most unknown.
1. The Bateau-Lavoir — 13 place Émile-Goudeau, 18th
The most famous. So nicknamed by Max Jacob, the Bateau-Lavoir is a three-storey wooden building that from 1900 housed about thirty artists' studios. Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon there (1907), Modigliani, Juan Gris, Apollinaire, Max Jacob lived or stayed there. The original burned down in 1970; rebuilt in 1978, it still houses today about twenty resident artists.
Address: 13 place Émile-Goudeau, 75018 Paris. Métro: Abbesses (12). Visit: façade + commemorative window only. 600 m from 34 boulevard de Clichy.
2. La Ruche — 2 passage de Dantzig, 15th
Outside Montmartre but unmissable. Built in 1902 by the sculptor Alfred Boucher from elements salvaged from the 1900 Universal Exhibition (the Eiffel wine rotunda), La Ruche is a polygon-shaped studio colony, still active. Have stayed there: Chaïm Soutine, Modigliani, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, Diego Rivera, Constantin Brâncuși. About forty studios are still operating.
Address: 2 passage de Dantzig, 75015 Paris. Métro: Convention (12) or Porte de Versailles (12). Visit: gate + outer garden.
3. The Cité des Fusains — 22 rue Tourlaque, 18th
Less well-known than its neighbours, the Cité des Fusains is probably the oldest still-active artists' colony in Paris: its wooden constructions date partly from structures dismantled from the 1889 Universal Exhibition. Pierre Bonnard, Auguste Renoir, Joan Miró, Jean Arp had a studio there. Still private, still alive, it can only be visited during the Heritage Days.
Address: 22 rue Tourlaque, 75018 Paris. Métro: Blanche (2) or Abbesses (12). Visit: gate only (private).
4. The Cité Véron — 92 boulevard de Clichy, 18th
A small dead-end courtyard opening directly onto boulevard de Clichy at the level of the Moulin Rouge. The Cité Véron is famous for having housed Boris Vian and Jacques Prévert in the 1950s, who rented one of the last studios above the Moulin Rouge. Today still several artists' studios and apartments reside there.
Address: 92 boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris. Métro: Blanche (2). Visit: free entry into the courtyard-passage. 450 m from 34 boulevard de Clichy.
"When you step through the porch, what strikes you most is the silence. You feel as if you were in the countryside. A small bucolic paradise, a preserved space. Sixteen artists' studios, a paradise of greenery."
The real Montmartre. A hidden treasure. — The courtyard-studio of 34 boulevard de Clichy.
5. 34 boulevard de Clichy — the least documented
If it is little known, it is because it has long been the subject of no centralised monograph: 34 boulevard de Clichy nevertheless houses a courtyard-studio occupied continuously for 162 years. On the ground floor, the Brasserie Reichshofen painted by Édouard Manet (1878-1879). Upstairs, the studio of Eugène Pottier, where the author of The Internationale completed the Chants révolutionnaires published in 1887. At the back of the courtyard: brick and timber-framing studios where worked Paul-Joseph-Victor Dargaud (painter of the Sacré-Cœur construction site), Henri Marre (Toulouse School), Pierre-Luc Feitu (Breton sculptor), Hella Guth (Czech painter, 41 years on site — the longest documented presence), then Michel Batlle.
Address: 34 boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris. Métro: Pigalle (2, 12). Visit: private courtyard, closed by digicode. Documentation: complete heritage investigation on 34-boulevard-de-clichy.com.
Going further
The European Heritage Days (3rd weekend of September) are the ideal occasion to access several of these colonies. For an itinerary combining these places and Paris's iconic tourist attractions, see our 2-day itinerary in artistic Paris. For the specific "Picasso in Pigalle / Montmartre" itinerary, see Picasso in Pigalle.
Frequently asked questions
What artists' studios can be visited in Paris?
Paris preserves several historic artists' colonies still in activity: the Bateau-Lavoir (place Émile-Goudeau, Picasso's former studio), La Ruche (passage de Dantzig in the 15th, former studio of Soutine, Modigliani, Chagall), the Cité des Fusains (rue Tourlaque, founded in 1880, still active), the Cité Véron (boulevard de Clichy, former refuge of Boris Vian and Jacques Prévert), and 34 boulevard de Clichy (courtyard-studio in activity since Manet and Pottier). Most are private but their façade or entrance can be seen from outside.
Does the Bateau-Lavoir still exist?
The original Bateau-Lavoir, place Émile-Goudeau in the 18th arrondissement, burned down in 1970. It was rebuilt in 1978 and still hosts about twenty resident artists today. The façade and the commemorative panel can be seen freely, but the studios themselves are not open to the public.
How to visit the artists' studios in Montmartre?
Most Parisian artists' colonies are private and closed to the public. The European Heritage Days (3rd weekend of September) are the best opportunity to access some of them. The Musée de Montmartre (12 rue Cortot) recreates the atmosphere of a Belle Époque artist's studio. The 34 boulevard de Clichy is documented online by the heritage investigation 34-boulevard-de-clichy.com.
What is there to see in Montmartre?
The Sacré-Cœur basilica (free entry), place du Tertre, place des Abbesses and its "I love you" wall, the Bateau-Lavoir where Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907, the Musée de Montmartre (12 rue Cortot), set in the oldest house on the hill, Dalida's house on rue d'Orchampt and Montmartre cemetery.
What is there to see in Montmartre off the beaten track?
The courtyard studios still in use: the Cité des Fusains (22 rue Tourlaque), where Bonnard, Renoir, Miró and Arp worked, the Cité Véron (92 boulevard de Clichy) and the courtyard of 34 boulevard de Clichy with its sixteen artists' studios. These places are private: you see them from the gate, except during the European Heritage Days (third weekend of September). Do not miss the Passe-Muraille statue on place Marcel-Aymé either.