Welcome To Montmartre, Home Of Sacre Coeur!

Welcome to the highest spot in Paris, where you can climb a long flight of stairs to look out over the city:

It is located on the top of the hill of Montmartre, located in the 18th Arrondissement of Paris. You can walk to it from the central tourist area of Paris in about a half hour and it’s worth it, even when you have to climb these stairs:

This is a look down after I climbed them, and then you get to a landing with more steps as well, but they are much more ornate:

Those lead to another flat area before you do one last set of stairs, but these ones are very colorful:

Here some information about this massive dome:

The impressive Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (its name in French) was built between 1873 and 1924 and is dedicated to Christ’s Sacred Heart. Today, the Sacré-Coeur Basilica welcomes more than 10 million visitors annually, making it the second most visited religious building in France, only after Notre Dame Cathedral.

Here’s another angle of the outside:

Here’s a fun fact:

The Sacré-Cœur is made of Château-Landon stone, which produces a liquid called cullet when it comes into contact with water. This liquid cleans the stone, which is why the basilica always appears white.

The Sacré-Cœur holds two world records as well – let’s head inside for a giant Jesus:

• Mosaic: The basilica’s apse ceiling is covered with a 475 square meter mosaic that depicts Jesus Christ’s Sacred Heart. It is one of the largest mosaics in the world. 

• Bell: The basilica’s bell, nicknamed “La Savoyarde”, is the largest bell in France. It weighs over 19 tons and has a diameter of 3 meters. 

The Sacré-Cœur was inaugurated in 1919, at the end of World War I, and became a symbol of hope

So I decided to film a video showing you where I was and what I experiencing, when this happened – I GOT PARIS PHOTO-BOMBED! Enjoy!

I had no idea that guy was behind me for part of the video, but it was funny and you know what they say: “Never cut funny!”

If anyone recognizes this guy, leave a comment!

A walk around the Sacre Coeur neighborhood reveals charming, narrow streets filled with architecture, art and the frivolous as well!

Yep, that’s Salvador Dali embedded in a brick wall and why not? If all the walking around makes you hungry, just head to the windmill!

Directly across the windmill is one of the best chicken restaurants in all of Paris! See what I ate by clicking on my food story here:

There are cut little water fountains everywhere as well, for horses originally, now for dogs:

On the walk back, you can check out one of the most unique aspects of Paris; the canals!

We had no idea, but it’s pretty cool to know that Napoleon himself was behind it!

See the story here:

Oh and it’s not the only thing I learned this trip – did you ever wonder how Parisians gas up their cars? Since we spend our time in the classic tourist areas, I’ve never seen a gas station in the central part of the city…well, until now:

Yes, on a boulevard near the Eiffel Tower, I found this miniscule two pump “gas station” on the side of the street! No gas station, just two pumps!

Speaking of the Eiffel Tower, we were there for the opening ceremony, and the tower put on a bit of a show!

The light show from the Eiffel Tower was incredible – and my wife was directly across the Seine, getting this up close video!

Wow!

By the way, don’t just stare at the Tower, go up It and have a meal!

Here’s a look at the incredible food and views you get from eating inside!

All of this Paris color started a year earlier, when I saw this in the sky over the Louvre Museum:

They continued to fly over us for the next hour…click here to find out why:

Of course, for me Paris is really all about the food – and I made sure it was for me as I wandered the Paris streets:

Here’s what I ate while my wife did all the work!

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Categories: Art, Exotic Travel, Memoirs, Paris, Pop Culture, Real Estate, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir

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