Montmartre & Sacré Coeur, Paris

Favorite thing: For the proprietor and the manageress, watching the world go by was not an option. Keeping up with the steady flow of July crowds, both seemed oblivious to the music coming form the piano in the room behind them and to the many things that went on in my mind. I was forced to think that Paris is precious to me, becasue it is mien for a few days. Maybe living here would make me oblivious to its charms as i saw them now, the same way that these two seemed to be. A thought that saddened me ...

Favorite thing: A leisurely afternoon strolling around Montmartre is not cokmplete without a cuppa at one of the many cafes dotting both sides of the path that leads up the hill to the Sacre Cour. I didnt get names - of the cafe or the proprietors - unfortunately. This gentleman played soothing tunes while I downed my iced latte and watched the world go by.

Favorite thing: The burst of colors that awaits one at Montmartre is delightful respite from the cold, passive glimpse of art at the Louvre. If you are an art afficianado, and had to choose between the Louvre and Montmartre, I would suggest the latter. being jostled by hordes of sightseers, the canvasses lining the corridors of the Louvre are not done justice to. Whatever there is to be seen at the Louvre can be much better seen in art books. go to Montmartre and see art being created, talented hands breathing life onto canvasses ...

Favorite thing: The Montmarte area of Paris is legendary as the home of the artist and bohemian lifestyle. At the crest of a hill is the grandeur of Sacre Coeur Basilica in it's white moorish splendour and fabulous views over Paris. There is also Place du Tertres where the artists are all set up to sell their wares. Some will do chariacatures of you for a price. That's fun, and don't forget to bargain a price. It's a bit touristy but it's like a free art gallery, wandering the square and seeing all the artwork on display. Montmarte is full of narrow winding streets, cafes and shops and markets. It's definitely an interesting part of Paris to explore.

Fondest memory: Some of us got our portraits drawn. Mine came out ok but i didn't think it looked a lot like me at the time. the artist drew me without a smile, in a somewhat pensive expression. My mother said she thought it was what i would look like when i would be in my 30's... i was 18 at the time and you know... it does!

Favorite thing: The Sacred Heart is one of the places the more frequented by the numerous tourists of Paris. Besides, the Montmartre place, and its painters, is to two steps from there. Don't forget quedans this district you have several museums also, of which the Grevin museum (museum of wax).
One line of bus, is very nice to go to Montmartre.

Fondest memory: Here, you have two types of people with cameras: the tourists who photograph the monument, or that photograph themselves before the monument, and the perverse that take in photos the undersides of the ladies... can be to nourish specialized Internet sites.

Attention, when you come here to the huge number of thieves to the square meter (picpockets, swindlers, false policemen, etc..).. Paris became a city of thieves, in any case!

Favorite thing: Make sure you just spend some time catching the train or walking from one famous monument to the next.....Paris has so many to choose from - the Arc d'Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre & Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame, Sacre Couer, the River Siene, Luxembourg Gardens....and they are all so easily accessible from each other.

Fondest memory: I loved the time we spent on the Montmatre Hill, wandering through the peaceful Sacre Couer Basillica, following the small cobbled streets around to the artists square, and looking at the view of Paris from the highest point in the city.

Favorite thing: Place du Tertre was the main place of the Village of Montmartre.
Now, it is a small square place occupied by the outside tables of the restaurants and bistrots and by the artists.
Each year, the bistrots and restaurants have more place and the artists lose a piece of field.

Fondest memory: The picture was shot in December which is not the high season.
Here you can choose the way to be trapped : buy a drink or a lunch (you will keep the ticket as souvenir), pay for your portrait (you can have the same in your country without the concern to bring it back ), chose a painting of Montmartre (your neighbor has the same), and do not forget the pickpockets (they like the crowd).
Sorry if you are deceived.

Favorite thing: Go to Sacre Coeur and walk around the streets in Monte Marte.
Just around the streets of Monte Marte you will find many artists displaying their works. There were artists offering to sketch portraits, there were painters, and even someone cutting an outline of you with a pair of scissors! See my travelogue for more.

Favorite thing: Notre-Dame de Paris holds a special place in my heart as a Parisian, but only the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre offers the full view of Paris, and makes for a great introduction to the diversity of the city.
Just sit on those steps and grasp the view.
As you walk east, you will see the Eiffel Tower, going towards the Place du Tertre where all the painters offer to draw your portrait. A traditional tourist trap...

Favorite thing: The Basilic seems to be white when it is lighted by night.
Really, it has a grey colour due to the pollution.

Fondest memory: When the war with Prussia stopped in 1870, the top of Montmartre Hill was a waste land on which the Garde nationale (Parisian Milice) had hidden its guns.
The 21th March 1871, the French government sent a general to pick them up. The milice resited and it was the beginning of the Commune (one of the numerous Parisian revolution).
The Commune was defeated 3 months later in a river of blood.
The basilic of Sacré Coeur was built from 1876 to 1919 to pay the penalty of the sins of the Commune. For this reason, it was erected at the place where the affaire began.
And it was white to have an image of purity (and also because the Paris limestone is white).