Sacré-Cœur

After getting next to no sleep on the overnight flight and a quick 20 minute hotel nap, we set out for a guided tour of the Sacré-Cœur in the Montmartre area of Paris.

I told you how excited I was about our France trip and I’m happy to report that it was a wonderfully magnificent vacation! This is the first of what will likely be many many travel posts. FYI we booked all our tours through American Concierge.

We met our tour guide at our hotel in the Bastille area and took the metro (with one transfer) to the Sacré-Cœur. Almost the entire time we were in France there was high pollution (because of the record high temperatures). So, the government offered discounted metro tickets to discourage the use of cars. SO, there were tons of people on the metro, causing the trains to be backed up. The trains that do not have air conditioning. The trains that were crowded because it was over 100 degrees. After exiting the train I felt like I had just run a 5K in humid weather.

Then we had to walk up a hill (past those annoying tourist shops) to get to the Sacré-Cœur. Then there were a mountain of stairs, thankfully we opted for the funicular that brought us to the top.

Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart) is a Roman Catholic Church, which sits at the highest point in Paris, giving it some incredible views of the city. Since it’s still a place of worship, there is no fee to enter. Before I saw the signs you can’t take photos, I snapped a few of the small chapels. These were off the main sanctuary, and each were dedicated to saints and other important religious people.

Inside Sacré-Cœur

The size, details, and overall architecture of the building were amazing. Our tour guide did a good job, but considering it was free to get in and not very large I don’t think a private tour guide is absolutely necessary. But she did set us up with a great dinner in Montmartre. More to come!