# Paris 20 Ménilmontant
**Ménilmontant** is a hillside quarter in the 20th arrondissement of eastern Paris, a former rural hamlet and industrial working-class district that is now known for its village atmosphere, artist spaces, and views over the city. It is not an administrative quartier of its own: the name covers parts of the administrative quartiers of Belleville, Père-Lachaise, and Saint-Fargeau, plus a small piece of the 11th arrondissement.[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269) Locals have long called it "Ménilmuche".[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Hillside in the 20th arrondissement (75020), between Belleville and the Père-Lachaise cemetery; spans the administrative quartiers of Belleville, Père-Lachaise, Saint-Fargeau, and part of the 11th[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269) |
| Origin | A rural domain (mesnil) belonging to Charles the Bald, given to the abbey of Saint-Denis in 862; old titles call the hamlet Mesnil-Maudan[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269) • [2](https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_administratif_et_historique_des_rues_de_Paris_et_de_ses_monuments/M%C3%A9nilmontant_%28rue_de%29) |
| Annexation | Attached to Paris in 1860 under Baron Haussmann, after which it became an industrial and working-class quarter[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269) |
| Apartment price | Median 8,476 €/m² over the 24 months of sales to 31 December 2025, on about 619 sales per year[3](https://askgoupil.fr/immobilier/paris/menilmontant/) |
| Price trend | Constant-quality index for the 20e: €8,500/m², +2.5% in the twelve months to December 2025, −11.9% since 2021[4](https://citydatalab.com/paris/) |
| Rental market | Ménilmontant/Gambetta (20th) at 7,900–9,200 €/m², described as a gentrifying east with above-average yields[5](https://rentvalo.com/en/guides/villes/paris) |
| Recognition | Named by Time Out one of its World's Coolest Neighbourhoods for 2025[6](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/feb/26/zoning-in-on-menilmontant-paris-arty-neighbourhood-france) |
## History
The name comes from a *mesnil*, a rural domain, belonging to [Charles the Bald](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-the-bald) (Charlemagne's grandson), who gave it to the abbey of Saint-Denis in 862. Old titles call the hamlet Mesnil-Maudan.[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269) • [2](https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_administratif_et_historique_des_rues_de_Paris_et_de_ses_monuments/M%C3%A9nilmontant_%28rue_de%29) Its elevated position made it a major contributor to Paris's water supply, and former aqueducts and street names such as rue de la Mare, rue des Cascades, and rue des Rigoles record that role.[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269) • [7](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/l-histoire-economique-du-20e-13640) Vineyards and country houses lined the slopes; the Pavillon Carré de Baudouin, built in 1778, is the only surviving remnant. Under the Ancien Régime the hamlet depended on Bagnolet, and in 1792 it was attached to Belleville.[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269)
**Annexation and industry.** Baron Haussmann annexed Ménilmontant to Paris in 1860, and the quarter then filled with factories and workers moving out from the city center.[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269) The 20th arrondissement itself was born in 1860 from the absorption of a large bourg (Belleville), a village (Charonne), and a hamlet (Ménilmontant).[7](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/l-histoire-economique-du-20e-13640) The area has a well-known history of working-class and immigrant activism.[8](https://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/12706/files/Johansson_Sofia_Thesis2023-4_Final.pdf) In the 1960s and 1970s, urban renewal replaced some old buildings with modern towers and slabs, but the quarter kept its popular and artistic character.[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269)
## Geography and character
Ménilmontant climbs a hill between Belleville's Asian quarter and the Père-Lachaise cemetery. From the stairs of rue de Ménilmontant up to the heights of rue des Pyrénées, the streets rise and open sudden views over Paris, Belleville, and Père-Lachaise.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/feb/26/zoning-in-on-menilmontant-paris-arty-neighbourhood-france) • [9](https://www.bonjour-oscar.com/quartier/menilmontant) The 20th arrondissement as a whole counts 185,140 inhabitants, the second-largest population of the Paris arrondissements.[10](https://info-paris.fr/paris-20e/)
The Guardian describes the quartier as "bohemian, arty and off the tourist trail", a former industrial district now noticed for community-focused art spaces, lively local bars, and inexpensive north African food, with a community whose working-class Parisian roots have long been integrated with a strong north [African diaspora](https://www.edgepedia.org/african-diaspora).[6](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/feb/26/zoning-in-on-menilmontant-paris-arty-neighbourhood-france) The official Paris tourist office calls it a trendy quarter of winding, paved streets, old houses, artist studios, bistros, and restaurants; at 103 boulevard Mortier, on its eastern edge, the street artist Tarek Benaoum painted a 600 m² mural (40 meters high by 15 meters wide).[11](https://parisjetaime.com/transport/quartier-de-menilmontant-p1909)
## Property market
Old apartments in Ménilmontant sold at a median of 8,476 €/m² over the 24 months of known sales up to 31 December 2025, on a volume of roughly 619 sales per year.[3](https://askgoupil.fr/immobilier/paris/menilmontant/) CityDataLab's constant-quality index for the 20e arrondissement, which holds the mix of homes fixed, stood at €8,500/m², up 2.5% in the twelve months to December 2025 but down 11.9% since 2021.[4](https://citydatalab.com/paris/) A rental-yield analysis places Ménilmontant/Gambetta at 7,900–9,200 €/m², a gentrifying eastern market with above-average yields, far below central districts such as [Saint-Germain-des-Prés](https://www.edgepedia.org/saint-germain-des-pres) at 13,100–15,300 €/m².[5](https://rentvalo.com/en/guides/villes/paris) Estate agents group Ménilmontant with Belleville, Charonne, and Saint-Blaise as eastern quarters sharing comparable building stock, transit access, and a common pool of buyers.[12](https://www.lamaisonimmo.fr/journal/vendre-rentree-paris-20e/)
## Culture and daily life
The cultural hub is Rue Boyer, which holds Galerie Ménil'8, an exhibition space run by and for the Artistes de Ménilmontant association; the association also organizes an annual Open Door festival of more than 60 venues in the last week of September.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/feb/26/zoning-in-on-menilmontant-paris-arty-neighbourhood-france) Well-known bars include the historic La Pétanque, with a sunny terrace facing the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Croix, and L'Express de Paris on [Boulevard](https://www.edgepedia.org/boulevard) de Ménilmontant, busy from morning coffee to after-midnight cocktails.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/feb/26/zoning-in-on-menilmontant-paris-arty-neighbourhood-france)
The quarter's institutions include the Carré de Baudouin, Plateaux sauvages, La Bellevilloise, La Maroquinerie, the Studio de l'Ermitage, the Vingtième théâtre, the théâtre des Gémeaux Parisiens, and the conservatoire [Georges Bizet](https://www.edgepedia.org/georges-bizet).[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269) Ménilmontant has long attracted artists: [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-jacques-rousseau) set parts of his *Rêveries du promeneur solitaire* there, photographers [Robert Doisneau](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-doisneau) and Willy Ronis recorded its daily life, and Aristide Bruant, Charles Trenet, Maurice Chevalier, Camille, and Mano Solo all wrote songs about it. Films shot or set there include *Le Ballon rouge*, *Rue des cascades*, *Casque d'or*, and *Un p'tit gars de Ménilmontant*.[1](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269)
## Transport
The quarter is served by Métro line 2 (stations including Ménilmontant and Belleville), line 3 (Gambetta), and line 11 (Belleville), plus bus line 96 (Belleville–Ménilmontant) and nearby stations Couronnes and Rue Saint-Maur on line 2 and 3.[11](https://parisjetaime.com/transport/quartier-de-menilmontant-p1909) • [13](https://www.le-guide-immo.fr/paris-75000/quartier/) Across the 20th arrondissement, 69% of households have no car, close to the Paris average of 68%.[13](https://www.le-guide-immo.fr/paris-75000/quartier/)
## References
1. [Il était une fois le 20e… Ménilmontant : un quartier populaire au cœur de Paris, Mairie du 20e](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/il-etait-une-fois-le-20e-menilmontant-un-quartier-populaire-au-coeur-de-paris-33269)
2. [Ménilmontant (rue de), Dictionnaire administratif et historique des rues de Paris, Wikisource](https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_administratif_et_historique_des_rues_de_Paris_et_de_ses_monuments/M%C3%A9nilmontant_%28rue_de%29)
3. [Prix m² Ménilmontant (Paris 20e), Askgoupil](https://askgoupil.fr/immobilier/paris/menilmontant/)
4. [Paris Property Prices per m² by Arrondissement, CityDataLab](https://citydatalab.com/paris/)
5. [Investing in Paris in 2026: rental yield and analysis, Rentvalo](https://rentvalo.com/en/guides/villes/paris)
6. [Zoning in on Ménilmontant, Paris: 'bohemian, arty and off the tourist trail', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/feb/26/zoning-in-on-menilmontant-paris-arty-neighbourhood-france)
7. [L'histoire économique du 20e, Mairie du 20e](https://mairie20.paris.fr/pages/l-histoire-economique-du-20e-13640)
8. [Sofia Johansson, thesis on TEP Ménilmontant, University of Chicago](https://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/12706/files/Johansson_Sofia_Thesis2023-4_Final.pdf)
9. [Vivre à Ménilmontant (Paris 20e), Bonjour Oscar](https://www.bonjour-oscar.com/quartier/menilmontant)
10. [Paris 20e arrondissement, Info-Paris](https://info-paris.fr/paris-20e/)
11. [Quartier de Ménilmontant, Paris je t'aime](https://parisjetaime.com/transport/quartier-de-menilmontant-p1909)
12. [Vendre dans le 20e : un marché d'un seul tenant, La Maison Immo](https://www.lamaisonimmo.fr/journal/vendre-rentree-paris-20e/)
13. [Meilleurs arrondissements de Paris, Le Guide Immo](https://www.le-guide-immo.fr/paris-75000/quartier/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Settlements and neighborhoods › Neighborhoods and suburbs › Districts and quarters of European cities (outside UK/Ireland and former USSR)*
*Initially written Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license