 | Paris Montmartre / Sacré Coeur Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 675 |  |
This basilica sits on hill that can be viewed most of Paris’ other monuments. It’s very Byzantine (although referred to as Neo-Romanesque) in style with its elongated white domes. The white stone called Chateau-Landon whitens with age, thus making it more beautiful as time goes on. If you look at my Intro picture, taken from the top of Notre Dame, you can see the Basilica dazzling white on the distant hill of Montmartre. It has a 19-ton bell that can be heard for some distance. The statues you see on it’s facade are the bronze equestrian statues of St. Joan of Arc and St. Louis with a statue of Christ with his hands raised in blessing. The interior is beautifully decorated with mosaics and a lovely figure of the Virgin and Child. It’s built on the site where Saint Denis was beheaded in the 3rd. Century. Like many of the other Christian sites, druids worshiped on this very spot and a site for early Christian churches. The St. Pierre de Montmartre, a 6th century Parisian church, still sits next to the Basilica. The Sacre Coeur was started in 1875, but wasn’t consecrated until after WWI in 1914.The Basilica is an important place for pilgrimages and welcomed by the Benedictine nuns of the Sacred Heart.
Although the Sacre Coeur isn’t considered architecturally beautiful, it’s a very imposing and important landmark of Paris.
Metro line 2 or 12 : Abbesses (then
take hill tram), Anvers (then take hill tram), Barbes-Rochechouart, Chateau-Rouge, Lamarck-Caulaincourt.
Bus: 30, 31, 80, 85 and Montmartrobus
(from Métro Jules Joffrin or Pigalle)
Opening hours
Basilica open from 6am to 11pm
Dôme : open from 9ham to 5h30pm (7pm in summer)
Fees
Free for the basilica.
Dome: 5 euros
Crypt: Free Leave a Comment |
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With its 130 meters, the Butte Montmartre, crowned by the Sacre Coeur, is the highest Paris' "summit".
There are two different stories about the name "Montmatre" origin : the official one beeing 'Mont de Mercure', but, a 13th century legend states that it comes from 'Mont des Martyrs' and refers to those, who, with Saint Denis (the first Paris' bishop), were killed here for their faith in the 3th century.
From the 12th century to the Revoution (1789) Montmartre housed an important and powerfull benedictine Abbaye.
In 1790, Montmartre was divided in two (uphill and downhill). While the downhill part was quite imediately re-included in Paris, the uphill one grew as a prosperous village until the 19th century and kept some independance, even after being attached to Paris in 1860 (and took an important part in the 'Commune' revolution in 1871).
This independant status appealed to artists, especially painters (like Vernet, Géricault, Corot, Pissarro, Renoir, Van Gogh, Utrillo, Picasso, ....) who moved to the Butte Montmartre during all the 19th century and the begining of the 20th.
Since then, if the area has lost its favour among the artists (in the 50's to Saint Germain des Pres (wich has now become a strictly touristy place too)) it has earned a lot among the tourists, especially after the film 'Amelie' (french title : Le fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain) came out.
It's a working class, cosmopolitan, colourfull, ever crowded and lively area dominated by 'artists' (and souvenir shops) place du Tertre, cafes everywhere, and fabric and (cheap) clothes stores. Leave a Comment |
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The author of numerous important plays, Alexandre Dumas fils was the illegitimate child of Marie-Catherine Labay, a dressmaker, and Alexandre Dumas, the author of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.
The writer was legally recognized by his father in 1831 and moved to live with him.
Among his important novels, we can count La dame aux camelias (The Lady of the Camellias), inpired by a young courtesan met while living in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Alexandre Dumas fils died at Marly-le-Roi in 1895 and was buried in Cimetiere de Montmartre. |
This substantial church is visible from most of Paris, gleaming white in sunlight. It is very much a matter of personal taste how you feel about its appearance, its beauty or lack thereof has been a matter of debate since it was built on the former site of the artillery batteries of Montmartre. See also my tip on the historic marker. To quote Wikipedia, it also …. was controversial in that it was built “to expiate the crimes of the Communards,” as some people at the time put it. It was also seen as a memorial to the many French citizens who lost their lives in the Paris Commune and the Franco-Prussian War.
Whatever its history or what you feel about its beauty, there is no argument that it is a spectacular sight and that the views from here are excellent. A visit ties in well with a walk through Montmartre. |
Due to its location, atop Montmartre, the beautiful white silhouette of the church can be seen from almost all the places in Paris and is also offering a magnificent view over the town.
The building of the Romano-Byzantine church lasted 38 years and was consecrated to the Sacred Heart in 1919.
Sacre-Coeur is 100m long and 50m wide, while the dome is 83m high.
The interior of the church is decorated with marble sculptures, stained glass windows and mosaics (contains one of the world's largest mosaics depicting Christ with outstretched arms). |
Located on the left side of Sacre Coeur, the small church of Saint Peter is one of the oldest in Paris, dating from 1134.
At the entrance the three bronze doors are presenting St Denis, St Peter and the Virgin Mary, while the old style interior was decorated with modern stained glass windows dating from 1953.
I liked very much the Way of Cross made by the Italian sculptor Gismondi. Address: 2 rue du Mont-CenisDirections: Left side of Sacre-Coeur. M: Abbesses (line 12) |
Sacre Coeur for me is the most beautiful church in Paris. It is a very large white building with several domes of various sizes, and is built high on a hill making it visible from large parts of Paris.
The church itself came into being after the Prussina War in 1870. Two Catholic businessmen (who must have been loaded) made a pledge to build a church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Christ (Sacre Coeur means Sacred Heart), should France be saved from the Prussian onslaught. Well I hate to spoil the anticipation, but yes of course France was spared. Work started in 1875, and was completed in 1914, but World War I and the German invasion of Paris meant that the church was consecrated until 1919.
If you arrive at the bottom of the hill, beware, there are a lot of steps to get to the top! There is a Funiculaire up the hill however, which can be taken from abbesses metro station. Leave a Comment Address: 35 Rue de Chevalier 75018Directions: Abbesses metro station. Then Funiculaire up the hill, or take the steps! it's better pictures up the steps...Website: http://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/ |
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this imposing basilica was built in response to the franco-prussian war of 1870. located on the montmartre it offers a superb view of the city. work on the basilica began in 1875 and it was completed in 1914. ironically it was not consecrated until 1919 due to the german invasion of WWI. some important works of art in the basilica are "the great mosaic of christ", "the virgin mary and child", and "the statue of christ" above the main entrance. to visit the basilica take the metro to the abbesses station then take the funiculaire to the steps of sacre-coeur. when visiting the basilica the montmarte area is worth exploring on foot. |
It's my favorite district in Paris. It has its own spirit I'm sure. I can't explain that. I just liked it, its streets upstairs and downstairs. Fantastic place! I had a walking from Monceau Park to Sacre Coeur Basilica and it was one of the most fantastic journeys in my life. You should have a walking in quarters near of the cemetery because on the closed jalousie of the shops there are nice pictures of the local painters. Leave a Comment |
In front of Sacre Coeur there is always a collection of dancers, jugglers, mimes, musicians and unauthorized street vendors. This is a lively and entertaining scene as some of the performers are quite talented. I have never been tempted by the vendors, but others tell me you should be cautious with them and look out for pickpockets as well. A time or two we noticed the vendors, who display their wares on blankets spread on the sidewalk or plaza, would gather their wares in the blanket/knapsack and rapidly disappear. Evidently there is some code they hear that translates roughly, "Cheez it, the cops!" Leave a Comment |
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