The bronze bust of Dalida stands on Place Dalida, a small square where Rue Girardon meets Rue de l'Abreuvoir on the quieter western side of the Montmartre hill in Paris. It was unveiled in 1997, ten years after the singer's death, about 100 metres from the house where she lived for 25 years. It is best known, a little awkwardly, for its chest, rubbed shiny by visitors who believe that touching it brings luck in love.
Dalida's bust at a glance
- Where: Place Dalida, at the corner of Rue Girardon and Rue de l'Abreuvoir in the 18th arrondissement; the nearest metro station is Lamarck–Caulaincourt (line 12).
- Created: inaugurated on 24 April 1997 for the tenth anniversary of Dalida's death; the city had named the square after her in December 1996.
- By: the French artist Aslan.
- What it is today: a bronze bust on a base of granite blocks, a place where fans still leave flowers, and one of the most photographed corners of Montmartre.
- Time needed: 10 minutes, or about half an hour if you add her house on Rue d'Orchampt.
From Cairo to the Montmartre hill
Dalida was born Iolanda Gigliotti in Cairo in 1933 to Italian parents. After she was crowned Miss Egypt in 1954 she moved to Paris in December of that year, and her first big hit, 'Bambino', followed in 1956. Over three decades she recorded in French, Italian, Arabic and several other languages, from the duet 'Paroles, paroles' with Alain Delon to the disco songs of the late 1970s.
In 1962 she bought a four-storey house at 11 bis Rue d'Orchampt, a lane just round the corner from today's square, and it stayed her home between tours. She died there on 3 May 1987, having taken her own life, and she is buried in the Montmartre Cemetery at the foot of the hill. The City of Paris created Place Dalida by decree on 5 December 1996, and the bust was unveiled on the square the following April. The square's name plate describes her simply as 'Dalida, 1933–1987, chanteuse, comédienne': singer and actress.
What to look for
- The chest: the bronze is dark except where hands have worn the patina away. In July 2026 the City of Paris confirmed it had paid for the black patina to be restored, but Dalida's brother Orlando expects the shine to come back.
- The base: the bust sits on five blocks of cut granite, with three trees around it that shade the square in summer.
- Flowers and notes left by fans, especially around 17 January, her birthday, and 3 May, the anniversary of her death.
- The name plate of the square, with her dates and her two professions.
- The view east up the cobbled Rue de l'Abreuvoir, which climbs towards the dome of Sacré-Cœur: one of the classic street views of Montmartre.
Luck in love, and a public debate
The belief that touching the chest brings luck in love is a recent one, since the bust has only stood here since 1997, but guidebooks and social media have spread it widely. In November 2025 Ecologist councillors called the habit a symbolic appropriation of women's bodies in public space, and the Council of Paris agreed to study light ways of protecting the bust. Orlando, who is Dalida's heir, opposed anything that would keep people away from it. On 8 March 2026, International Women's Day, the artist Lucie Lesterlou Tarride dressed the bust in a hand-sewn armour of mirrors as a protest; a passer-by cut it off and took it away within a few hours.
Tips for your visit
- Come early in the morning or in the evening. Tour groups pass through all day, and the square is only a few metres across.
- Many visitors now simply take a photo or leave a flower instead of touching the bust. Whatever you do, keep the square calm: people live in the houses all around it.
- For a short Dalida walk, start here, look at the plaque on her house at 11 bis Rue d'Orchampt (it is private), then walk down Rue Lepic to her grave in the Montmartre Cemetery.
- The streets around the square are steep and cobbled, so wear shoes with a good grip, especially after rain.
Nearby
- Allée des Brouillards and the Château des Brouillards: a leafy lane and an 18th-century house right beside the square; Pierre-Auguste Renoir lived in the lane in the 1890s.
- Le Passe-Muraille: the sculpture of a man stepping out of a wall on Place Marcel-Aymé, a couple of minutes' walk up Rue Girardon.
- La Maison Rose: the small pink restaurant at the corner of Rue de l'Abreuvoir and Rue des Saules, painted by Maurice Utrillo.
- Musée de Montmartre: the old house on Rue Cortot where Suzanne Valadon and her son Maurice Utrillo lived, now a museum about the history of the hill.
See Montmartre with World City Trail
Our Montmartre scavenger hunt turns the streets of the hill into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 22 minutes of walking. It includes the Wall of Love, the Bateau-Lavoir, Place du Tertre and the Passe-Muraille statue, just up the street from Place Dalida.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Montmartre.
Play the Montmartre scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Montmartre →
Play the outdoor escape game in Montmartre →
Facts checked in October 2026.