Sacré-Cœur Basilica

A Catholic basilica on the summit of Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Begun in 1875 after the Franco-Prussian War, it was consecrated in 1919 and overlooks the whole city.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre, usually called the Sacré-Cœur, stands at the top of the butte of Montmartre and is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was proposed in 1870, after France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, and its hilltop site, overlooking the scene of the Paris Commune, has made it controversial ever since.

Paul Abadie’s neo-Byzantine and Romanesque design was chosen from seventy-seven entries, and construction began in 1875. The church was completed in 1914 and consecrated in 1919, after the First World War. From its dome the basilica looks out over all of Paris and its suburbs, and it is one of the most visited sites in the capital. It was designated a monument historique in 2022.