The buildings were formerly the home of several famous artists, including Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Suzanne Valadon.

The museum is housed in buildings which are three centuries old, the Hotel Demarne and the Maison du Bel Air.

As a home its residents included: The collections of the museum belong to the association Le Vieux Montmartre, created in 1886, and contains paintings, photographs, posters and manuscripts that depict the history of the neighbourhood, its effervescence, the bohème and cabarets from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The collection includes Le Cabaret du Chat Noir by Steinlen, Bruant au Mirliton, Le Divan Japonais or Le Moulin Rouge by Toulouse-Lautrec, La Place Pigalle by Maurice Utrillo, L’Autoportrait by Suzanne Valadon, Parce Domine by Willette, L’enseigne du Lapin Agile as well as the magnificent Théâtre d’ombres by Henri Rivière.

According to the New York Times, its working vineyard is said to make the most expensive bad wine in the city.