The Place Pigalle is a public square located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, between the Boulevard de Clichy

Boulevard de Clichy

The Boulevard de Clichy , which lends its name to the Place de Clichy, resulted from the fusion, in 1864, of the roads that paralleled the Wall of the Farmers-General, both inside and out. It extends from the Place de Clichy to the Rue des Martyrs, nearly a kilometre away...

 and the Boulevard de Rochechouart

Boulevard de Rochechouart

The Boulevard de Rochechouart is situated at the foot of Montmartre and to its south. Like the neighbouring street it is named after Marguerite de Rochechouart de Montpipeau , abbess of Montmartre. It is a result of the 1864 merging of the boulevards and chemins de ronde which followed the...

, near Sacré-Cœur, at the foot of the Montmartre

Montmartre

Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...

 hill. The place takes its name from the sculptor, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle was a French sculptor.He was born in Paris, the seventh child of a carpenter. Although he failed to obtain the Grand Prix, after a severe struggle he entered the Académie Royale and became one of the most popular sculptors of his day.His earlier work, such as Child with Cage ...

 (1714–1785), and it is the best-known district of the Quartier Pigalle

Quartier Pigalle

Pigalle is an area in Paris around the Place Pigalle, on the border between the 9th and the 18th arrondissements. It is named after the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle ....

, the Pigalle neighborhood.

The square and the surrounding streets were, at the end of the nineteenth century, a neighborhood of painter's studios and literary cafés of which the most renowned was the Nouvelle Athènes

Nouvelle Athènes

The Nouvelle Athènes was a café in the Place Pigalle in Paris, France. It was a meeting place for impressionist painters, including Matisse, Van Gogh and Degas. Degas painted L'Absinthe in this place....

(New Athens).

The Place Pigalle inspired a celebrated song by Georges Ulmer

Georges Ulmer

Georges Ulmer was born with the given name, Jørgen Frederik Ulmer, on 16 February 1919 at Copenhagen, Denmark and died on 29 September 1989 at Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. He was a composer, librettist, and actor of Danish origin, who became a naturalized French citizen...

: "Un p'tit jet d'eau, une station de métro, entourée de bistrots, Pigalle ... ." ("A tiny spritz of water, a subway station, surrounded by bistros, Pigalle ... .")

"Place Pigalle" is also the title of a song written by Alex Alstone and Maurice Chevalier

Maurice Chevalier

Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...

. It was recorded by Chevalier with orchestra (Jacques Helian, conductor) in Paris on 9 April 1946.

Elliott Smith wrote a song titled "Place Pigalle," that remains unreleased.