Montmartre Archives - Wanderwiles

Snapshots of La Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques

I’ve had this year’s La Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques (Festival of Scallops) in Montmartre on my calendar for a couple of months. A French friend told me about this annual Breton event and I was instantly intrigued. David and I love scallops. We had big fun in October at the Meaux “Brie Happy” Festival celebrating the local cheese so had high hopes for a festival centered around scallops and other specialties from the Brittany region of France. A quick online search promised booths of food, cooking demonstrations, traditional Breton dancers and more. Fun!

La Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques in Montmartre is a two-day weekend event in January, peak scallop season. This year the fête was this past weekend, January 27-28, 2024. We arranged to meet our friend, Anthony, at pretty place des Abbesses on Saturday afternoon, the first day of the festival. This meant we’d miss an opening ceremony and group toast, but c’est la vie. After some gray days of on-and-off drizzle, Saturday dawned clear and crisp, boding well for the fete.

An incident on the Métro forced us to reroute to the Pigalle Métro stop instead of Abbesses which gave us the chance to enjoy the pretty 5-minute walk along cobbled streets to triangular place des Abbesses. We could hear the music of French bagpipes as we approached the white tents and stalls of the fête. (Bagpipes, which feature in the folk music of several French regions, are generally called “musettes” in France with the Breton version known as “binioù.”)

The entrance to the Abbesses Métro station sits in the middle of the small Abbesses plaza and it was surrounded by throngs of festival-goers. Many shared bottles of wine or cider and plates of scallops, oysters and escargots at tall tables. People navigated the crowds with bottles clutched to their chests or plastic wine and champagne glasses held high to avoid spills. The mood was boisterous and happy, but well-behaved with people of all ages. Children rode the carrousel in the center of the small plaza and begged treats from their parents. Despite overflowing trashcans, visitors neatly lined up bottles and stacked plates.

Anthony texted to say he’d gotten caught up in the same Métro slow-down we did, so David and I bought glasses of delicious local wine and went in search of scallops. Skewers of seared scallops and vats of sauteed mushrooms called to us, but the musicians had begun to form a small parade with pairs of costumed dancers falling in behind. We decided to postpone our first snack and head to the street to watch the show.

Back among the tents after the procession, I snagged us spots on a park bench where we could perch and enjoy our first snack. We’d just finished scallop skewers and mushrooms when Anthony arrived and immediately set out to buy a bottle of champagne. For the next hours, we had fun sharing food, wine and great company. We laughed and joked with a very spirited French group at a table nearby, and I discovered that the woman with whom I was sitting back-to-back on the bench and I had a lot in common. We started out with a few comments, realized we were both American and discovered a surprising number of things in common from childhood schools, to adult careers, expat lives, and mutual friends of friends. We had so much to talk about, we made plans to return for the second and last day of the festival the next afternoon. The fête seemed to inspire camaraderie all around.

After more food including garlicky escargots and a bag of rich, rum-kissed canelés, we called it a night. And, yes, we did make it back the next day to indulge less, but chat a lot more. La Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques in Montmartre is a smaller version of a big scallop festival that takes place in the town of Paimpol in Brittany. In 2024, La Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques in Paimpol will be the 20-21 of April.

I recently sent the following to a family member. I can’t count how many times I’ve forwarded this to friends and family and it occurred to me (finally) that I ought to just post it on Wanderwiles. Et, voilà!:

A MONTMARTRE WALK

I always tell people that Montmartre is worth a visit and makes a great walk. A lot of people skip Montmartre because it’s more down-scale and crowded and has some steep walks, but it does have some of the best views and most classically Parisian locales and can be done mostly downhill if you follow the route I’ll set out. It’s not unsafe (I have a friend who owned a jewelry store there and loved the area), picturesque (beyond a certain grunginess) and charming in its own way. There is a large immigrant population in Montmartre, it’s the bustling fabric district of Paris, and it’s full of tourists and a fair amount of party-minded types in addition to merchants and the like, so expect bustling activity, noise and a colorful international vibe going in. Here’s my favorite route:

Start at Métro Stop Anvers (line 2)and head uphill along rue Steinkerque (to your right as you’re exiting the Métro). [It’s usually crowded, so as always in crowds, be aware of your surroundings–purse across the shoulder, valuables in inside pockets, etc. I’ve never had a problem, but it’s always best to be city-smart.] You’ll pass lots of fabric and tourist shops and see the white basilica of Sacré-Coeur on the hill ahead. Enjoy the view of the church from the base of the hill. You can walk up or skip the steep hike and head to your left (as you’re facing Sacré-Coeur, as in the photo above) where you’ll come to the funiculaire de Montmartre. If you’ve got Métro tickets or passes, they work there, or buy a ticket at the stand. Ride to the top and take in the spectacular view of the city. (You can’t, however, see the Eiffel Tower from the steps. You’ll get to see it soon, though.) Take a look at the interior of the basilica with its beautiful mosaic of Christ with his sacred heart ablaze in gold on the ceiling. You can visit the crypt and climb the dome. When you come out of the basilica, head to your right along the sidewalk to the left of the road. About halfway down that road, you’ll see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

*View of Paris and the Eiffel Tower en route to place du Tetres from the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur*

The road T’s in about a block. Go right a short distance uphill and you will come to the famous Place du Tertres on your left where artists are set up in a square surrounded by cafés.

After wandering the square, head downhill along the road you came into the square on (rue Norvins). (If you like Dalí, you can head left a very short way down rue Poulbot and then take another left. The Dalí Museum will be there on your left. Or take a detour to your right on rue des Saules and another right on rue Cortot to visit the small Musée de Montmartre and view Le Clos Montmartre, the last working vineyard in Paris.) From rue Norvins as you leave place du Tertres, head left downhill where rue Norvins branches and you’ll come to rue Lepic on your left. Wander downhill on rue Lepic where you’ll see a restaurant in a (modern recreation) windmill; further downhill to your right on a hill, you’ll see the last original windmill in Paris, the Moulin de la Gallette which was painted by Lautrec, Renoir, Picasso and Van Gogh (who lived with his brother on rue Lepic for a time). Just opposite this windmill, head downhill on steep, narrow rue Tholoze. At the bottom turn right, then immediately left. This will take you through the heart of the old rue Lepic street market. (Rue Lepic makes a big “U” which rue Tholoze bisects so you just pick back up on rue Lepic here.) The well-known Lux Bar is about halfway down on your left. At the bottom, you’ll come to blvd Clichy and Place Blanche. Métro Blanche (line 2 again) is in the center of the boulevard. Take time to look to your right where you’ll see the Moulin Rouge. If you cross to the Métro entrance and look back, you can snap a good picture of it or cross to the median for a straight-on shot.

Moulin Rouge viewed from the entrance to Métro Blanche

I usually just hop the Métro here, as I’m a big fan of Paris’ public transportation.

Tag: Montmartre

A Festival of Scallops in Monmartre, Paris

A favorite (and mostly downhill) walk through Paris’ colorful Montmartre neighborhood