Sacré-Coeur France

Take in the panoramic views of Paris while visiting the beautiful white stoned basilica.

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The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, known as Sacré-Coeur, is the second most visited monument in the city. Sacré-Coeur sits on the summit of Montmarte, the highest point in the city. From here, you can see all of Paris. The view from the top of the dome is second only to the Eiffel Tower.

Sacré-Coeur was built between 1875 and 1914 by the architect Paul Abadie. Before its construction, this area had already been used as a place of worship for hundreds of years. The druids of ancient Gaul erected temples dedicated to Mercury and Mars. Later the Romans would build their own temples. The L'Eglise Saint-Pierre, was built nearby in the 12th century. It was destroyed during the French Revolution in 1789.

The Franco-Prussian War and the "Commune" Revolution in 1871 were two bloody battles between France and Germany and the Vatican. The French people built Sacré-Coeur as a symbol of penance for the violence they had caused. Unfortunately this did not end the violence. Sacré-Coeur was completed in 1914, the same year World War I began.

The bell in Sacré-Coeur is called "Savoyarde". It was cast in the Alps in the commune of Quintal, near Annecy. It took 21 horses to deliver the bell to the top of the hill in 1895. It is one of the largest (3 meter diameter) and heaviest (19 tons) bells in the world. It can be heard from 10km away.

Why is it called Montmartre?

Montmartre means "Mountain of the Martyr." According to tradition, this hill is where Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was beheaded by Roman soldiers around the year 250 AD for refusing to give up his faith. Legend says that after his execution, Saint Denis picked up his own head and walked nearly 10 kilometers north, preaching the whole way, before finally collapsing. The spot where he fell became the Basilica of Saint-Denis, where almost every king and queen of France is buried.

Long before the basilica was built, this hilltop was already sacred ground. Druids built temples here to honor Mercury and Mars, and the Romans built their own temples after them. When you climb the steps to Sacré-Coeur, you are walking up a hill that people have considered holy for more than 2,000 years.

Why is someone always praying inside Sacré-Coeur?

Since 1885, before the basilica was even finished, someone has been praying inside Sacré-Coeur at every single moment, day and night, without stopping. It is called perpetual adoration, and people sign up in shifts to make sure the prayer never breaks, even at 3 o'clock in the morning.

That prayer has now continued without interruption for more than 140 years. It kept going through World War I, through World War II and the German occupation of Paris, and through every storm and holiday in between. If you visit, you can quietly watch it happening in front of the golden altar. It may be the longest unbroken activity of any kind happening anywhere in Paris.

Why is Sacré-Coeur always so white?

Sacré-Coeur is built from a travertine limestone called Château-Landon, quarried at Souppes-sur-Loing about 100 kilometers south of Paris. This stone has an unusual trick: when rain touches it, the stone releases a mineral called calcite that acts like a fresh coat of white paint. So while most old buildings in Paris get darker and grimier over time, Sacré-Coeur gets cleaner every time it rains. It is a building that washes itself.

The same stone was used for the Arc de Triomphe and the Pont Alexandre III, which is why those monuments also look brighter than the buildings around them.

Who are the two statues on horseback at Sacré-Coeur?

The two bronze riders above the main entrance are Joan of Arc on the left and King Saint Louis on the right. They are the easiest statues to find on the whole building — everything else is bright white stone, but these two are made of bronze, so they have turned green over time. Look up above the three big arches at the front door and you cannot miss them.

Joan of Arc was a farm girl who said she heard voices from God telling her to save France. She led an army into battle when she was only about 17 years old, and she was captured and killed at 19, in the year 1431. Hundreds of years later, the church declared her a saint.

King Saint Louis, also called Louis IX, became king of France when he was just 12 years old. He is the only French king ever made a saint, and he was famous for sitting under an oak tree and listening to ordinary people's problems himself instead of sending them away.