We had a lazy morning, sleeping late and enjoying a delicious breakfast in our lovely little flat.
You’ll notice that there’s no dining table. There actually is but it’s folded up against the wall. We pull it out when we eat.
It was about 11:30 before heading out for the top of the Montmartre hill. It was only a 30-minute walk, but it was all uphill. After about 20 minutes, we rested over coffee and hot chocolate in preparation for climbing about 50 stairs.
Around the corner we found another giant flight of stairs, twice as high as the one we just climbed. Luckily, there was a way around it because I’m not sure we could have done any more. We still had to go up the hill but did it gradually without the stairs.
Once to the top, it was just a short stroll to the Place du Tertre, which at one time, was the main square of the ancient city of Montmartre. Now it’s famous for the artists that set up their easels around the square and is one of the most visited places in Paris.
We visited 4 years ago when we were in Paris and purchased a gorgeous oil painting that now hangs in our living room.
We looked for the artist and while he wasn’t there his brother was. He speaks very good English and told me that his brother was home and wasn’t doing very well. He still paints but doesn’t come to the square anymore, so he sells the work for him.
There were at least 50-60 artists all over the square and their work was incredible. Oh, to have talent.
After wandering around the small square, we crossed the street to the Eglise Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, the 2nd oldest church in Paris constructed in the 12th century. It’s a small church and very nondescript from the outside but beautiful on the inside.
Then it was around the corner to the magnificent Sacre Coeur Basilica, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Factoid….a Basilica has higher church authority than a Cathedral.
Compared to the other churches we’ve seen in the UK and in earlier trips to the continent, this one is brand new. Construction began in 1870 and finished in 1923, so it’s only 100 years old. It sits high on top of Montmartre hill and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city.
Since we went into the Basilica in 2018, we didn’t go again but here are a few pictures from our first visit.
After enjoying our lunch in the dog park just down the hill (fending off the pooches who wanted to share our lunch), we took a 35-minute ride on the Petite Train through the local area. It actually went about 5 minutes from our flat before heading back to the Sacre Coeur.
There was a viewing platform overlooking the city. It was a beautiful, sunny day so it was a great view.
Once finished on the hill we walked down about a zillion stairs. We were going to take the funicular, but the ticket machine was only adding money to existing tickets, not selling new tickets. Since we didn’t already have a ticket, down the stairs we went. But down is better than up so it didn’t take too long.
As a reward for making it down the stairs without incident, we enjoyed a sweet crepe.
Finally, we headed home but by the time we got there we were both exhausted. We’d walked over 11,000 steps and neither one of us had slept that well last night. So, it will be a quiet evening at home. We bought a couple of chicken cordon bleu and au gratin potatoes for dinner but we’re so full of crepes that we may save them for tomorrow night.
As always, thanks for joining us on our travels and we’ll talk again tomorrow.