Paris still has one working vineyard. It covers a slope of the 18th arrondissement, at the corner of Rue des Saules and Rue Saint-Vincent, and every autumn its harvest sets off five days of festivities in the streets of the Butte. From Wednesday 7 to Sunday 11 October 2026, the Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre (Montmartre's grape harvest festival) marks its 93rd edition, built around the theme “The 18th sets the rhythm”: concerts, choirs, brass bands and balls run through it as a common thread.

The entire official programme is free and open to all. Here is the dated schedule, what to know about the vineyard that gives the festival its name, and the simplest way to reach the Butte without a car.

Clos Montmartre, the vineyard that sets the tone

Clos Montmartre stands at 14 Rue des Saules, just below Rue Saint-Vincent. The City of Paris counts around 2,000 vines there, producing a harvest that reaches up to 1,300 kg of grapes in some years, with wide variation from one vintage to the next.

Winemaking is overseen by COFAS, the 18th arrondissement's Committee for Festivities and Social Action, and the bottling takes place in the cellars of the district town hall. The Cuvée du Clos Montmartre is then sold for the benefit of the 18th's social welfare programmes: the festival remains, now as at its origin, a matter of neighbourhood solidarity as much as an annual fixture of the Parisian autumn.

The day-by-day programme

The times below come from the official programme published by the organisers. They may still be adjusted before October.

Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 October: the opening

The festival opens on Wednesday 7 October, from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m., with a launch evening at the Mairie du 18e, 1 Place Jules Joffrin. On 7, 8, 9 and 11 October, guided visits of the Clos Montmartre vines are offered at several time slots through the day; registration details have not been published yet, so it is worth checking the official website before setting out.

Friday 9 October: the music settles in at the Arènes

The Scène des Vendanges sets up at the Arènes de Montmartre, from noon to 8:00 p.m. on Friday 9 and Saturday 10, then from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday 11. It is the musical heart of this edition. From 9 October onward, car traffic is also discouraged on the Butte, which changes how visitors should plan their trip.

Saturday 10 October: Ban des Vendanges and Grand Défilé

This is the busiest day. The Ban des Vendanges (the harvest proclamation) takes place in the Clos Montmartre vines from 9:45 to 11:30 a.m., ahead of the Grand Défilé, which sets off from the vines at 11:45 a.m. and winds through the streets of the Butte until 1:30 p.m. At the same time, the Parcours du Goût (the tasting trail) sets up around the Sacré-Cœur from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., both Saturday and Sunday: it is the tasting part of the festival, and the only one where visitors need to open their wallets.

Sunday 11 October: the “non-proposal” ceremony and closing ball

Sunday opens at Place des Abbesses, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with the “non-proposal” ceremony, a playful mock-marriage-proposal tradition, free to attend like the rest of the programme. The festival then closes at Square Louise-Michel, at the foot of the Sacré-Cœur, with the closing ball from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Practical information

  • Dates: Wednesday 7 to Sunday 11 October 2026, 93rd edition.
  • Locations: Clos Montmartre (14 Rue des Saules, 75018), Arènes de Montmartre, Place des Abbesses, around the Sacré-Cœur, Square Louise-Michel, Mairie du 18e (1 Place Jules Joffrin).
  • Price: free and with no booking required for the entire official programme. Only tastings and purchases from exhibitors on the Parcours du Goût are paid.
  • Access: the organisers recommend metro lines 2, 4, 12 and 13 depending on your arrival point, along with several bus lines. Car traffic is discouraged on the Butte from 9 October, and parking is banned on several streets until 14 October.
  • Attendance: for the 2025 edition, organisers counted close to 492,000 visitors on the Parcours du Goût, 1,500 participants and 54 confréries in the Grand Défilé, and more than 3,000 people at the closing ball. These figures are from the previous year and are not a forecast for 2026.

Getting up the Butte from the Hôtel R de Paris

The Hôtel R de Paris is located at 41 Rue de Clichy, in the 9th arrondissement, right on the edge of the 18th. For the Sacré-Cœur, the Parcours du Goût and Square Louise-Michel: walk to Place de Clichy (lines 2 and 13), take line 2 toward Nation and get off at Anvers, three stops further on, then finish on foot or by the funicular from Place Suzanne Valadon. For Clos Montmartre and Place des Abbesses: line 12 can be picked up at Trinité-d'Estienne d'Orves, a few minutes' walk away, or at Gare Saint-Lazare, 7 minutes on foot, and runs directly to Abbesses. Allow around 20 to 25 minutes door to door either way.

The trip requires nothing more than an ordinary transport ticket; our metro ticket guide details the current fares and options.

At the end of the day, walking back down to the 9th through Pigalle is worth the detour, especially at dusk: our Pigalle to Notre-Dame-de-Lorette walk follows roughly the same route, in reverse.

Five days of festivities, a neighbourhood vineyard and an 18th arrondissement that sets the rhythm: the Vendanges de Montmartre unfold freely, from the launch at the town hall to Sunday evening's ball, and the Cuvée du Clos keeps funding the district's social programmes. Given the crowds recorded in 2025, it is worth picking specific time slots rather than trying to see everything. The event fits into a busy October, and we have covered the rest of the Parisian October programme elsewhere. From the 9th arrondissement, it can all be reached by metro, without ever needing a car.