Sacré-Cœur

The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur crowns the 130-metre Montmartre hill in Paris's 18th arrondissement, its cluster of Romano-Byzantine domes built from Château-Landon travertine — a stone that actually whitens over time as rainwater leaches calcium, keeping the facade perpetually pale. The church was conceived in 1870 as an act of national atonement following France's crushing defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Sedan, with Bishop Félix Fournier of Nantes calling for a votive church to spiritually heal the wounds of both the war and the violent Paris Commune uprising. Construction ran from 1875 to 1914, and since the consecration in 1919 perpetual adoration has been maintained inside without interruption — over a century of continuous prayer. The broad esplanade and sweeping staircase below offer one of the most expansive panoramas over central Paris, making the hilltop as much a secular gathering place as a place of worship.