For years, Montmartre has been one of Paris’ most beloved neighborhoods, perched high above the city and crowned by the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur. But for many who call it home, the influx of visitors has turned their daily lives into a struggle.
Olivier Baroin, a longtime resident, recalls when Montmartre felt like a village within the city. “Now, there are no more shops at all, there are no more food shops, so everything must be delivered,” said Baroin, who recently decided to sell his apartment.
A member of the residents’ group Vivre à Montmartre (“Living in Montmartre”), he says overtourism has stripped the neighborhood of its soul.
Banners strung between balconies capture the growing frustration. One reads, in English: “Behind the postcard: locals mistreated by the Mayor.” Another, in French: “Montmartre residents resisting.”
The transformation is striking. Traditional butchers, bakeries, and grocers have disappeared, replaced by bubble-tea stands, ice-cream stalls, and souvenir shops.
Streets once used by locals are now dominated by tuk-tuks, tourist queues, and cafés spilling into cobbled lanes. For those with disabilities like Baroin, new pedestrian-only zones make mobility even harder.
Sacré-Cœur, which attracted 11 million visitors in 2024, now surpasses even the Eiffel Tower in annual attendance. The basilica’s popularity, combined with short-term rentals and digital platforms funneling travelers to the same “Instagrammable” spots, has led residents to describe the district as an “open-air theme park.”
Their frustrations mirror wider unrest across Europe. In Barcelona, anti-tourism protests have seen residents wield water pistols against crowds. Venice has introduced entry fees for day-trippers and limits on visitor numbers, while Athens has capped daily visitors to the Acropolis to protect its ancient monuments.
Paris is not immune to similar tensions. In June, Louvre staff staged a strike over overcrowding and deteriorating working conditions, as the museum logged 8.7 million visitors in 2024—double its infrastructure capacity. The capital as a whole welcomed 48.7 million tourists last year, a 2 percent rise from 2023.
Urban planners warn that unchecked tourism could hollow out historic districts, turning them into what critics call “zombie cities”—picturesque but lifeless, with residents displaced by visitors.
Paris authorities have attempted to mitigate the issue by tightening rules on short-term rentals and cracking down on unlicensed properties. Still, with global travel projected to rise and nearly 10 billion people expected on Earth by 2050, the pressures are unlikely to ease.
Some tourists, meanwhile, see the bustle differently. “For the most part, all of Paris has been pretty busy, but full of life, for sure,” said Adam Davidson, a visitor from Washington, DC.
But residents like Baroin fear the neighborhood’s identity is slipping away. “I told myself that I had no other choice but to leave,” he said. “The Montmartre I once knew no longer exists.”
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members
