As an elegy to the echoing void the thief left behind, I’ve compiled a list of these artists’ residences and studios, peppered with a little ear-popping gossip, of course. Paris has always inspired artists. Often, though, it was their very own “room with a view” that spurred them on to dizzying (and sometimes scandalous) heights.

There are so many places I want to show you that this week I’ll take you on a stroll through Montmartre. Next time we’ll visit the other great Parisian hotbed of modern art, Montparnasse and St-Germain.

Come on, Cheapos, a-façading we will go!

Pablo Picasso
13 Place Emile-Goudeau, Le Bateau-Lavoir (1904-1909)

Picasso’s view of the Sacre Coeur

Named “le Bateau-Lavoir” because of its resemblance to the laundry barges on the Seine, this former piano factory (pictured, at top) was converted into artist studios around 1880. Rent was just fifteen francs, noise and chaos abounded and newspapers served as table linens.

It was here that Picasso met Georges Braque, who was living on the other side of the hill. “Notre pard,” Picasso took to calling the six-foot boxer, race car driver and dancer, a phrase he pinched from “Les Histoires de Buffalo Bill.” A tight bond was formed, and Cubism took flight. Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”—considered by many art historians to be the first modern painting—was painted here.

Braque’s view

11 Boulevard de Clichy (1909-1912)

As more money rolled in, Picasso was able to move downhill to Clichy. Southern exposure and northern light filled the top floor of the new spacious digs, making it a perfect studio. Here Picasso fell under the spell of the stunning view of Sacré Coeur, the bewitching redheaded model Fernande Olivier and a monkey called “Mamina.” Picasso and Braque’s relationship and experimental fragmenting continued to flourish, both racing back and forth to each others’ apartments.

Georges Braque
48 rue d’Orsel and 101 rue Caulaincourt, Hôtel Roma (early 1900s)

The then brand-spanking-new, curvaceous-but-yet-angular Sacré Coeur helped kick off Cubism by rousing both Picasso and Braque. Both were driven to paint the Neo-Byzantine stunner in all her fragmented beauty. Braque could see Sacré Coeur’s powder-white towers and turrets from his window, but from the back side of the hill.

Feeling brazen, he asked the owner of his building on rue d’Orsel to post a sign stating that there were “Cubists on every floor!” But he could back it up. Cubistas. (Just saying.)

Modigliani
13, Place Emile-Goudeau Le Bateau Lavoir (1906) and 7 Place Jean-Baptiste Clément (1906-1907)

Modigliani’s House

Here Modigliani started experimenting with sculpting heads with railroad cross-ties stolen from the Barbès-Rochechouart Metro Station, which was still under construction at the time. His very public and spirited fusses with girlfriends Beatrice Hastings and Jeanne Hébuterne at Place Emile Goudeau are still legendary with the locals. Cool down at the Wallace Fountain with my favorite view, located in the middle of the square.

What’s up next?

Stay tuned for next time, when we’ll head across town to see the Left Bank digs of these artists and more! What happens when Picasso meets his new infatuation Eva Gouel? Will he stay or will he go on to leave Montmartre for Montparnasse?

Like sands through the hourglass, Cheapos, so are the nail-biting days of our lives!

The post Paris Walking Tour: Famous artists’ studios in Montmartre appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Drink specials

Here’s a short list of apéritifs—along with a few daytime touring suggestions to go with your drinks— that’ll help you ease into the evening in harmonious style. So, during “l’heure de apéritif” (the gateway to dinner), you can kick back with a journal or sketchpad avec a cold beverage, and look and feel like a vrai local.

Something old in Montmartre

Local Laurent demonstrates the art of the Picon.

Hankering for a taste of the past? Order a Picon. Created by Gaétan Picon in 1837, this bittersweet blend of oranges and deep blue gentian flowers is typically served with a demi-pression (small draft beer), into which you pour the Picon-bière. Aromatic and richly colored, the orange-toffee flavored brew combines with the hops to pack a potent punch. Take caution! “Just one,” smartly advised local film editor Laurent, “otherwise you just might tumble down.”

Everything tastes better in context. So, if you’re in Montmartre, work up your thirst with a stroll by Van Gogh’s old digs at 54 rue Lepic, Picasso’s studio at the Bateau Lavoir (13 Rue Ravignan), or the Chat Noir at 84 Blvd. Rouchechouart (where Erik Satie tickled the ivories). If you still aren’t parched, check out the old zinc bar exhibited at the Musée Montmartre.

Something new (er) in St-Germain

After the 1915 ban on Absinthe, folks had to make do with Pastis, which tastes nearly the same but no longer induces appearances of la Fée Verte (the Green Fairy) as the hallucinogenic muse of artists and poets. Opalescent green in color with a distinctive anise taste, it’s usually mixed with water and ice. For a literary twist, add champagne instead of water for a concoction Ernest Hemingway lovingly called, “death in an afternoon.”

Promenading through St-Germain? Look for the former residence of Julia Child at 81 rue de l’Université (she had her own homemade absinthe recipe!), or the Closerie des Lilas, where a plaque embedded in the bar marks Hemingway’s favorite seat. Visit the Musée d’Orsay. Note those cloudy green glasses in the works of Degas, Lautrec or Van Gogh.

Something borrowed in the Marais

In 1885 Fernand Muraux found a recipe in Switzerland and introduced Suze (named for a Swiss river). Another gentian-based apéritif, this old-fashioned bar favorite is normally served on ice with equal parts water or orange juice. Make a conversation piece of it by challenging your drinking companions to describe its strange and peculiar flavor! Picasso once said, “I put all the things I like into my pictures—too bad for the things, they just have to put up with it.” Check out his 1912 collage “Verre et bouteille de Suze.”

While meandering through the Marais, visit the Musée Picasso or Musée Carnavalet (where you’ll spot Steinlen’s original Chat Noir sign!).

Something blue in Montparnasse

Say “Kir” for a classic (and classy) refresher made of crème de cassis (a blackcurrant liqueur) in white wine. Originally called blanc-cassis, it was named for Canon Félix Kir, the Mayor of Dijon who popularized it when the good red Burgundy was confiscated during the German Occupation. As usual, brewmaster Hemingway made his own version with vermouth, called “Chambéry Cassis.”

Afternoon aperitifs near Picasso’s old haunt.

Take a break from hobnobbing in Montparnasse with a visit to the Musée Montparnasse. Also hit up Hemingway’s house at 70 bis rue Notre Dame des Champs, or see where Gertrude Stein held court at 27 rue de Fleurus (where Papa was a frequent caller). For real café-culture ambience, try Le Select at 99, Boulevard Montparnasse.

Bon Voyage et Santé, Cheapos!

The post Paris Tip: Local aperitifs and the locales to match them appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.