At first there was an abbey for Benedictine nuns on the hill which was razed in 1794, during French Revolution, when the hill itself was named after the revolution leader Jean Paul Marat: Mont Marat.
This little vine-dresser town became famous thanks to a group of artists who, at the end of the 19th century, settled on the hill, such as Van Gogh, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Utrillo, Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Picasso, etc.
Today Montmartre is not as famous as it was in the past but you can enjoy many and sudden Paris sight from the hill. It is closed to traffic but this “mountain” is crossed by the only funicular railway of the city. On its peak there is Saint Pierre church, commissioned by Saint Bernard of Claivaux in 1147 and consecrated by Pope Eugene III.
The little square is in the nearby of Saint Pierre church and it has become one of Paris’ main and most visited touristic places.