MONTMARTRE, Sacre Coeur

As you've definitely noticed when easily distinguishing its dome from even far distances in the city, the Sacre-Coeur Basilica is one of the tallest buildings in the city (obviously after the Eiffel Tower), and offers a privileged view of Paris.

As you climb up the long staircase you'll be just below the façade: above the three-arch arcade you can see the statues of Joan of Arc and King Louis IX, The Saint. The basilica was built as a sort of ex-voto by the French Catholics after the humiliating defeat suffered in the war against Prussia in 1870, but construction work on it ended only after the First World War.

Its style should have been Romanesque-Byzantine, however, the project was greatly modified during the works. The bell tower is 84 meters high, and from its top the famous large bell is chimed, which is called "Savoiarda" in an explicit reference to the Savoy annexation in 1895. Can you imagine, it took 34 horses to put it in place!...