Rue des Martyrs

Lying between the 9th and 18th districts, Rue des Martyrs is one of the busiest streets of shops and cafes to be found in Pigalle. Linking the Eglise Notre Dame de Lorette and Sacré Coeur, it has kept, despite the years, its old-fashioned charm with its traditional shops, many typical Parisian cafes, lively bars, cabarets and historical concert hall, 'Le Divan du Monde'. Commercial during the day, it becomes a Mecca of Parisian nightlife and partying in the evening and at night. All the extravagant charm and colour of the 18th arrondissement on a single street! The story behind the name is that Rue des Martyrs recalls St. Denis, the first bishop of Paris, who was decapitated under the Roman Empire. The legend says he picked up his head to travel the length of this famous street, dying a few kilometres north of where the Basilica of Saint-Denis was later founded.