Butte Montmartre, du martyre de saint Denis au Sacré-Cœur

Paris (18e arrondissement)

Before becoming the hill of painters and tourists, Montmartre was first the hill of the martyrs. Tradition holds that Saint Denis, first bishop of Paris, was beheaded there in the 3rd century along with his companions Rustique and Éleuthère, and legend even says the bishop picked up his own severed head to walk to the site of the future Saint-Denis basilica. It is from this memory that the name "mount of the martyrs" is said to come, becoming Montmartre. Saint Geneviève, patron saint of Paris, is said to have wanted a chapel to honour the site of the execution, and the hill became a place of pilgrimage; a Benedictine abbey lived there from the 12th century until the Revolution. Below, the crypt of the martyrium (rue Yvonne Le Tac) marks the traditional site of the martyrdom, where Ignatius of Loyola and his companions took their vows in 1534. History turns again in 1870: two laymen, Alexandre Legentil and Hubert Rohault de Fleury, made the "national vow" to raise a church to the Sacred Heart. Cardinal Guibert chose Montmartre, the National Assembly declared the project of public utility in 1873, and the architect Paul Abadie won out among 78 proposed designs. Funded by ten million donors, the basilica was not consecrated until 1919. Since 1885, eucharistic adoration has never been interrupted there, day and night: on the hill of the martyrs, the prayer continues.

Getting there : Anvers metro station (line 2) then funicular or stairs; basilica open every day from 6:30am to 10:30pm, free entry; paid entry to the dome (280 steps, no lift); guided tours of the crypt on certain days.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound