Sacré-Cœur

18th arrondissement of Paris, France

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

Opening hours: 06:00-22:30
Wheelchair access: Partly accessible

From OpenStreetMap — confirm before travelling

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Perched atop Montmartre in Paris's 18th arrondissement, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic minor basilica dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, rising 83 meters above the city. Designed by Paul Abadie and selected from seventy-seven competing proposals, the building exemplifies Byzantine and Romanesque Revival architecture rendered in travertine stone. Construction began in 1875 and, proceeding under five successive architects over four decades, concluded in 1914; the basilica was formally consecrated in 1919 following World War I. Proposed in 1870 by Bishop Félix Fournier in response to France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, it was built on its commanding hilltop location only after the Paris Commune's suppression, a circumstance that rendered it historically contentious among France's left. From its dome, two hundred meters above the Seine, the basilica surveys the entire city and suburbs, making it Paris's second most visited tourist destination after the Eiffel Tower. The site has maintained perpetual Eucharistic adoration since 1885 and carries traditional associations with Saint Denis, patron saint of Paris.