Located atop Montmartre, the highest point in Paris, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Sacré-Cœur) was constructed between 1875 and 1914 as a dedication to national renewal after a century of “moral decline” and schism that cumulated as a disastrous defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Designed by Paul Abadie in Romano-Byzantine style and built with white travertine stone, it is 83m high. Its interior is dominated by a large mosaic, “Christ in Majesty” by Luc-Olivier Merson over the apse.
Photography is prohibited inside, but hundreds of smartphones were clicking away when we visited.