Sacre-Coeur Basilica

This church (translated to Sacred Heart) was first opened in 1889 and sits high on a northern hill of Montmarte and provides some of the best views of Paris.

The design of the structure reminds me of the castle at Disneyland.

The chapel inside was beautiful.  They did not allow photography, but I was discreet and took this one silently without a flash.  I'm sitting along side one the interior walls looking up into the dome ceiling that contained an impressive mosaic of Christ.  (Click on the photo for a closer look.)

In addition to a free interior visit, the church also provided two others at a fee - entrance to the dome and the crypts.  Since I has just been in the crypts at the Pantheon, I chose the dome.  I didn't count the number of steps for this hike, but they were a challenge to climb.  However, the view was amazing and worth the effort and the 5 euros admission fee.

This is one of the building extremities from the Dome view.

The building was made from stone that has the advantage of whitening with contact from water.   It gets a bath every time it rains.  The stone is hard to find and was also used for the Arc De Triomphe.

There was an observation deck just below the stairs.  Most of the crowd was here, soaking up the view and snapping photos.  (Click on the photo for a closer look.)

This was a last look before I made my journey back down the hill.