Visit the Highest Point in Paris at the Sacred Heart Cathedral
Excerpt from the book On a Tall Budget and Short Attention Span from the Teresa the Traveler Series.
Trapped in a Paris Peepshow Booth
By my third day I had enough of Paris and was anxious to leave but unfortunately the overnight train to Barcelona was full and I couldn’t get out until the next day. I killed the time by walking to Sacred Heart, a beautiful white stone church crowning the summit of Montmartre – the highest point in Paris. Built in 1870 in memory of the Franco-Prussian War, it provided the backdrop for U2’s music videoTwo Hearts Beat as One.
Parked beside the church was a small open-air train offering tours of Montmartre and Pigalle. I hopped on and got my first glimpse of the world famous Moulin Rouge – the French dinner theatre featured in the 2001 Hollywood film of the same name.
In 1889, the edgy theatre company introduced the French Cancan, a revolutionary dance that provided the audience tantalizing peeks at the dancers’ anatomy under their petticoats and frills. The tradition continues with daily shows featuring 60 dancing girls, dressed in costumes of feathers, rhinestones and sequins. Unfortunately I was not dressed for a dinner show so instead I took a walk along Clichy Boulevard trying to capture the perfect Red Light District picture.
I snapped one of a man sitting on the sidewalk with his dog making leather pouches after which a lady approached me and started speaking in French. I told her I didn’t understand and continued on my way. She followed me down the street then approached me again saying something about a photo. I never took a photo of her and had no idea what she was talking about. She didn’t seem to be playing with a full deck and was starting to scare me.
I ducked into an x-rated video store, and the lady followed me in then lunged at me trying to snatch my camera. The two male employees pulled her back and kicked her out of the store where she lingered by the door yelling at the top of her lungs. Crazy lady was not about to give up that easily and succeed in getting back into the store and attacking me twice more before one of the men decided to hide me in a peep show booth hoping she would think I left and go away. Before long crazy lady discovered my whereabouts and broke into the booth whereupon the men pulled me out of the booth and locked her in. Then one of the men led me to a sex shop next door and stuffed me into the broom closet telling me to wait until the coast was clear. About 40-minutes later he came back for me announcing the woman had finally given up and left.
Needless to say, I high-tailed it to the nearest metro station and headed back to the safety of my hotel room. Walking past by all the hissing men littering the streets around the Gare Du Nord was much preferable to a run in with the Crazy Lady of Pigalle.
By my third day I had enough of Paris and was anxious to leave but unfortunately the overnight train to Barcelona was full and I couldn’t get out until the next day. I killed the time by walking to Sacred Heart, a beautiful white stone church crowning the summit of Montmartre – the highest point in Paris. Built in 1870 in memory of the Franco-Prussian War, it provided the backdrop for U2’s music videoTwo Hearts Beat as One.
Parked beside the church was a small open-air train offering tours of Montmartre and Pigalle. I hopped on and got my first glimpse of the world famous Moulin Rouge – the French dinner theatre featured in the 2001 Hollywood film of the same name.
In 1889, the edgy theatre company introduced the French Cancan, a revolutionary dance that provided the audience tantalizing peeks at the dancers’ anatomy under their petticoats and frills. The tradition continues with daily shows featuring 60 dancing girls, dressed in costumes of feathers, rhinestones and sequins. Unfortunately I was not dressed for a dinner show so instead I took a walk along Clichy Boulevard trying to capture the perfect Red Light District picture.
I snapped one of a man sitting on the sidewalk with his dog making leather pouches after which a lady approached me and started speaking in French. I told her I didn’t understand and continued on my way. She followed me down the street then approached me again saying something about a photo. I never took a photo of her and had no idea what she was talking about. She didn’t seem to be playing with a full deck and was starting to scare me.
I ducked into an x-rated video store, and the lady followed me in then lunged at me trying to snatch my camera. The two male employees pulled her back and kicked her out of the store where she lingered by the door yelling at the top of her lungs. Crazy lady was not about to give up that easily and succeed in getting back into the store and attacking me twice more before one of the men decided to hide me in a peep show booth hoping she would think I left and go away. Before long crazy lady discovered my whereabouts and broke into the booth whereupon the men pulled me out of the booth and locked her in. Then one of the men led me to a sex shop next door and stuffed me into the broom closet telling me to wait until the coast was clear. About 40-minutes later he came back for me announcing the woman had finally given up and left.
Needless to say, I high-tailed it to the nearest metro station and headed back to the safety of my hotel room. Walking past by all the hissing men littering the streets around the Gare Du Nord was much preferable to a run in with the Crazy Lady of Pigalle.
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Wikipedia - The inspiration for Sacré Cœur's design originated in the wake of the division in French society that arose in the decades following the French Revolution, between devout Catholics and legitimist royalists on one side, and democrats, secularists, socialists and radicals on the other. This schism became particularly pronounced after the Franco-Prussian War and the ensuing uprising of the Paris Commune of 1870-71. Though today the Basilica is assertedto be dedicated in honor of the 58,000 who lost their lives during the war, the decree of the Assemblée nationale, 24 July 1873, responding to a request by the archbishop of Paris by voting its construction, specifies that it is to "expiate the crimes of the Commune". Montmartre had been the site of the Commune's first insurrection, and many dedicated communards were forever entombed in the subterranean galleries of former gypsum mines where they had retreated, by explosives detonated at the entrances by the Army of Versailles. Hostages had been executed on both sides, and the Communards had executed Georges Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, who became a martyr for the resurgent Catholic Church. His successor Guibert, climbing the Butte Montmartre in October 1872, was reported to have had a vision, as clouds dispersed over the panorama: "It is here, it is here where the martyrs are, it is here that the Sacred Heart must reign so that it can beckon all to come".
In the moment of inertia following the resignation of the government of Adolphe Thiers, 24 May 1873, François Pie, bishop of Poitiers, expressed the national yearning for spiritual renewal— "the hour of the Church has come"— that would be expressed through the "Government of Moral Order" of the Third Republic, which linked Catholic institutions with secular ones, in "a project of religious and national renewal, the main features of which were the restoration of monarchy and the defense of Rome within a cultural framework of official piety", of which Sacré-Cœur is the chief lasting triumphalist monument. The decree voting its construction as a "matter of public utility", 24 July, followed close on Thiers' resignation. The project was expressed by the Church as a National Vow (Voeu national) and financial support came from parishes throughout France. The dedicatory inscription records the Basilica as the accomplishment of a vow by Alexandre Legentil and Hubert Rohault de Fleury, ratified by Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert, Archbishop of Paris. The project took many years to complete. For tips on visiting France CLICK HERE
For tips on visiting Europe CLICK HERE For general travel tips on what to pack and how to plan ahead CLICK HERE For tips on travelling on a budget CLICK HERE |
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Where I Stayed...
Hotel de Milan 17, rue de Saint-Quentin, 75010 Paris, France Tel: 01.40.37.88.50 Fax: 01.46.37.88.50 This affordable hotel is located near the Gare De Nord or North Train Station. For Trip Advisor Review CLICK HERE |
