Considered a quiet neighbourhood, with its market, church, its square and its cemetery, a village spirit fills the district of Batignolles! Between city and fields, and close to Montmartre, the ancient hamlet offered cheap living to artists. Impressionism took form here in a cafe frequented by Manet, Degas, Cézanne, Monet and Renoir … This was not just a centre for artists, but also for writers: Zola, Verlaine — laid to rest beside Blaise Cendras and André Breton at the Batignolles cemetery — Max Jacob, Éluard, and Simenon lived here.
