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Basilique de Sacre Coeur, Paris

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In a romantic city like Paris, there are many beautiful places to visit. But perhaps one of the most wonderful is the Basilique de Sacre Coeur, or Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It sits atop Paris’ highest point, the Montmartre Hill in Paris northern neighborhoods.

It is one of the most visited places in Paris, and no wonder – when you reach this place you catch a panoramic view of the city below, both from the Basilica’s forefront and dome. Of course, you could also go up the Eiffel Tower, but the Basilica is incredible.

Many people visit the Basilica at night. Why? Because it is romantic of course, and the sky over Paris is often said to be blue (yes you read that right) during summer nights. So, you can hold your lover’s hand, while overlooking an ocean of rooftops dusted in a magic blue light. Or, something like that.

Basilica deSacre-Coeur, Paris

At first glance you may think the Basilica is very old, because of its style of architecture, but it was actually built late 1800’s. Its design is that of the ancient Romano-Byzantine, which you can also see a lot of throughout the southern regions of France.

Why was it built? To honor those who perished during the French Revolution, but also during the Franco-Prussian war. But apart from honoring those who died, it was also built to inspire faith into the French people who lived on and struggled during what was a very trying era.

The Montmartre Hill had been a place where people came to worship before, during different rules throughout history, so it was very timely that the site got a Christian symbol to represent the current climate.

You may think that as a religious symbol, this beautiful building would have been more majestic. But no - instead it was scaled back to display humility and to ‘speak up’ against the Baroque excess style that at the time had been so crushingly popular.

Of course, no matter how ‘discreet’ those who constructed this building were, they still managed to include touches that were ornate – stained glass installations, and one of the largest mosaics in the world. The church bell tower is also enormous, in fact it is one of the largest and heaviest in the world – with its 19 tons.

If you are thinking of which places in Paris to visit, we highly recommend this stunning site – not just to take in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart itself, but also to see the amazing views of Paris from its forefront or dome. Opening hours can vary, so always check before you set out (the metro station to get off at is the Pigalle). However, it tends to be open daily and stay open until late evening. You can even catch a Sunday Mass here.

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