Sacré-Cœur

The other day, the "What City Should You Actually Live in" Buzzfeed Quiz caught my eye. Always on the lookout for new places to explore, I figured I would take it. I totally expected to get some random city that I either have never been to or that I couldn't see myself living in. Well, kudos Buzzfeed, I couldn't have said it better myself! I know it's just a random online quiz, but it made me smile. I totally agree, I absolutely adore this city and love living here.

The quiz got me thinking, as I'm living here, I should probably see the major sites. When I arrived in October I made sure I went to see something once a weekend. However, a few weeks in my weekends became more focused around running errands and seeing my friends. In order to change that I made a list last weekend of a few of the places I would like to see and went on my first adventure.

Sunday afternoon, with blue skies and the sun shining I headed to Sacré-Cœur, a Roman Catholic Church and minor Basillica dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Located in Montemartre in Northern Paris I jumped on the metro and headed over. Sacré-Cœur, located on the top of Butte Montmarte, is the highest point in Paris and the church is actually higher than the Eiffel Tower. The Church stays extremely white and clean due to the stones, as rain cause the stones to secrete calcite ensuring the Church retains its white color!

Construction of Sacré-Cœur began in the late 1800s after the war of 1870. The project was initiated by a group of influential people who vowed to build a church if Paris escaped unscathed from the war. They believed that the defeat of the French was due to the moral sins of Paris and not political ones. The Church would be their act of penance for their sin.

The inside of the church was stunning. It was decorated with copious amounts of gold and a ton of intricate and vibrant mosaics. The mosaic in the apse, "Christ in Majesty" is one of the largest in the world and is absolutely stunning. Created in 1922 by Luc-Olivier Merson, it depicts Christ with a golden heart and outstretched arms, surrounded by various people, including the Virgin Mary and Joan of Arc. Sadly, photos weren't permitted, but I found the one below online.

Beautiful Mosaic