The Sacré-Coeur Basilica (Basilique du Sacré-Coeur) is a domed church placed prominently on top of the tallest hill in the Paris area, a hill called Montmartre. The church is difficult to miss, as it is 270 feet of white travertine, perched atop a hill more than 400 feet in height. It is possible to buy a ticket to a viewing area encircling the base of the main dome, from which panoramic views of Paris are to be had. The church is a relatively recent development in Paris, having been built between 1875 and 1914, both as something of an apology for the violence of the Paris Commune and to honor the victims of the Franco-Prussian War (both events occurred in 1871). The area of Montmarte (“mountain of the martyr”, named for St. Denis, the patron saint of Paris, who was decapitated here in 250 A.D.) was becoming well-known in the latter half of the 19th Century, first as a popular drinking area, and then (perhaps coincidentally) as an area frequented by starving artists. A short list of artists that lived or worked in the area would include Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Dalí and Picasso. A number of cabarets (some notorious) were springing up around this time as well, including the famous Moulin Rouge and Lapin Agile.

I wasn’t too interested in taking my wife and daughter to notorious nightclubs, so after arriving in Montmarte from Versailles we headed directly for the church, passing through a gauntlet of souvenir shops on the way.

On Moving Sidewalk in Metro Station MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD

Nella on Rue de Steinkerque Med   Lrg

The easiest way to get to the top of the hill is to take the funicular, a cable car which you can ride by expending a Metro ticket.

The outside of the church is pretty impressive, as is the inside.

Sacré-Coeur Basilica Med   Lrg	Sacré-Coeur Basilica Med   Lrg   Xlg
Façade Med   Lrg   Xlg	In Front of Sacré-Coeur MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD

Entry is free, but photography is not allowed. Climbing to the dome is not free, but the cost is low enough that it might be considered worthwhile for someone looking for a great view of the city. We felt the view from in front of the church was good enough, so we didn’t do the climb.

View South from Sacré-Coeur Med   Lrg

Paris from Sacré-Coeur MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD

The area in front of the church was inhabited by a lot of tourists (including ourselves) and a variety of street performers. On our visit we saw a group of string players performing classical music, a guitarist-singer performing more contemporary music and some young athletes performing amazing feats of soccer prowess.

Performers and Spectators Med   Lrg

Singer-Guitarist Med   Lrg

We decided to walk back down the hill, partly to save money and partly to get some more photographable views of the church.

Sacré-Coeur Basilica and Stairway Med   Lrg	Sacré-Coeur Basilica Med   Lrg   Xlg
Connie and Sacré-Coeur Basilica Med   Lrg   Xlg	Nella and Bob with Fountain Med   Lrg
Base of Hill Med   Lrg   Xlg	Sacré-Coeur Basilica from Below MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD
Connie and Bob with Basilica Med   Lrg	French Lesson with Nella and Connie MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD

We returned down Souvenir Lane to the Anvers Metro station and caught a train back toward the hotel.

We made a quick stop at Notre-Dame for a few pictures (the lighting is better late in the day) and then found dinner and frozen yogurt near the hotel.

Cathedral Façade Med   Lrg   Xlg	Connie and Cathedral Med   Lrg
Connie and Nella MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD	Connie and Bob and Frozen Yogurt Med   Lrg

We spent the night in our now-larger hotel room, ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel, leaving our luggage in a storage area they had. Except for Connie’s, which we took along with us for an expedition to the eastern part of town to reunite Connie with her friends, who were now in a hotel near the Père Lachaise Cemetery, the burial place of such people as Oscar Wilde, Frédéric Chopin and Jim Morrison (of The Doors), among others. Connie and her friends visited the cemetery later, but Nella and I had returned to the left bank by this time. Maybe someday Connie will post her cemetery pictures. Nella and I killed a little time on the left bank, and then returned to the hotel to claim our luggage.

Then we headed for the RER station and boarded a southward-bound train for Orly Airport, where we caught a Transavia jet to our next destination, the city of Seville in sunny Spain.