At the foot of Montmartre, Pigalle has a reputation as Paris's centre for sleaze. Peep shows and sex shops still do line the boulevard, but a younger, hipper and resolutely more wholesome crew line the pavements nowadays, queuing to get into cool music clubs like the Boule Noire, La Cigale and La Machine du Moulin Rouge – a hotbed of electro sound next door to the Moulin Rouge cabaret.
Just south of Pigalle, you'll find the often-overlooked quarter of Nouvelle Athènes – named after the neoclassical mansions built by waves of artists, writers and composers in the early 19th century. To glimpse these miniature palaces, wonder along Rue Ballu, Rue St Lazare (painter Paul Delaroche lived at Number 58), Rue de la Tour-des-Dames and Rue de la Rochefoucauld. The Musée Gustave Moreau on Rue de la Rochefoucauld is reason alone to come, featuring the artist's cluttered apartment and light-filled studio. Another wonderful museum is the Musée de la Vie Romantique, which displays mementoes of George Sand's life. It is especially lovely in summer when the rose garden turns into a tearoom.
