On the streets of Paris - Rue Drevet, Montmartre.

There are streets in Montmartre that announce themselves, full of cafés, painters, and the steady presence of visitors. And then there are streets like Rue Drevet, which do the opposite. You could pass its entrance without noticing, and yet it holds one of the most honest expressions of the hill.

Barely 80 metres long, Rue Drevet is less a street than a climb. It rises in a narrow run of steps from Rue des Trois-Frères up to Rue Gabrielle, a quiet, workmanlike route that feels closer to a passage than a destination.

From below, it reveals itself suddenly, a steep staircase cutting between buildings, drawing the eye upward. People move steadily along it, some climbing with purpose, others pausing, as if the slope demands a moment’s thought or an intake of breath.

Montmartre, for all its beauty, can sometimes feel curated, its prettiest corners carefully preserved, its rough edges softened. Rue Drevet resists that. The façades are close, the space tight, the stone underfoot worn by years of use. It doesn’t try to charm you, which is precisely why it does.

Historically, this part of the hill belonged to the old Montmartre abbey lands, broken up and sold after the Revolution. By the mid-19th century, as Paris expanded, the slope was threaded with streets and stairways. Rue Drevet emerged from that process, a practical route up the hill, later named after the engraver Pierre Drevet.

And yet, it has its own quiet artistry.

Stand at the bottom and look up: the steps pull your eye toward the light, framed by the buildings on either side. It is a simple composition, but one that never quite loses its appeal.

You won’t find much here designed for visitors. Just a corner café, a boulangerie, people passing through. Life unfolding as it always has.

Rue Drevet doesn’t ask for your attention but it rewards it.

Good info. on the stairs of Montmartre here.

“The streets of Paris are best explored without hurry — they reveal themselves only to the unhurried.”

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Part of the “Streets of Paris” Series

Each Saturday, we wander through the streets of Paris — tracing light, texture, and the quiet poetry of daily life.

Browse the full series

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