So here we go - the Paris series in its full glory. My first featured destination - Montmartre - a quaint, hilly area in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Montmartre used to be a hub for many famous artists (as you'll discover later on in this post), and is now famous for its restaurants, the iconic Sacre Coeur basilica, Place du Tertre and many other features.
Since Montmartre was hilly - we had to climb quite a number of steps to get there. Usually people went by the famous Rue Foyatier - but I went by an alternative route :)
The iconic Sacre Coeur, situated on the top of the Montmartre hill. Sacre Coeur is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, and is on the highest point in the city of Paris. The church was consecrated in 1919. I actually learnt about Sacre Coeur from the movie A New Kind of Love (1963) - which was filmed almost entirely in Paris and Montmartre. And after that I really HAD to visit this beautiful icon! Well here we go - one tick off my bucket list now! I've visited Sacre Coeur! And climbed up and down these famous steps shown here.
The details on the facade of Sacre Coeur. Photos were not allowed in the church itself. But the interior of the church was so gorgeous.
Two statues are situated near the top of the facade - that of King Saint Louis and Joan of Arc - both of them on horseback.
Some random dude kicking a football from a lamppost - near Sacre Coeur...he was really amazing!
After exploring Sacre Coeur, we decided to take a walk around the streets. Montmartre is also famous for many movie scenes, including that of La Vie En Rose (2007), A New Kind of Love (1963) and of course, the epic Moulin Rouge! (2001).
We spotted some street artists trying to get customers too - and many people actually were willing to sit in the open while these artists performed their magic. These artists were actually really amazing! Of course, there were some shops selling works of art...all around Montmartre.
The famous Montmartre petit-train, making its rounds in the streets.
Time to look for food! We walked by quite a number of restaurants before finally deciding on Ristorante Cincitta - a small Italian restaurant in one of the smaller streets. The restaurant had lots of movie artefacts and portraits featured. And the food was so delicious. I've included a picture of my vongole pasta here.
Had a stroll down the streets and took pics of all these small restaurants. By then I was really full from dinner...and needed a walk to help my food digest!
Place du Tertre - the famous square within Montmartre where people got their portraits sketched! Lots of choices here - people could speak to different artists and get them to draw their portraits. Lots of different styles here - but they were all so amazing. Some of them did portraits that bore uncanny resemblances to their "models"...others did more informal, caricature-like sketches...
Place du Tertre is a square that is reminiscent of Montmartre's status as a modern art centre. Many artists like Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Theophile Steinlen and and Pierre-Auguste Renoir lived here in the 19th and 20th centuries...and there's also a Salvador Dali art museum not too far away! Speaking of which, Theophile Steinlen's the artist who designed the iconic Le Chat Noir cabaret advertisement. I've got a postcard of the Le Chat Noir cabaret advertisement.
Anyway - here are pictures of Place du Tertre. Check out those impressive works of art!
Moulin Rouge - the famous cabaret/burlesque nightclub which opened in the Pigalle district of Paris. I was kinda curious about Moulin Rouge and wanted to see a cabaret show in there, as I heard that the performances were really artistic and impressive. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get tickets, but I still got a picture of the outside! I reckon it looks even nicer at night, with the windmill spinning and all! One day I'll try and get a ticket to see their performances!
Ended up back at the train station - Gare du Nord (or Paris Nord in local lingo). Parisian train stations are really beautiful - especially the major ones like Gare de L'Est, Gare St Lazare and Gare de Lyon. I've been to Gare de L'Est, Gare de Lyon and of course, Gare du Nord. Here's the facade of Gare du Nord in its full glory...
And Gare de L'Est isn't too far away either! Our hotel was situated between Gare du Nord and Gare de L'Est. We went to both stations - depending on where our next destination was.
Most of the metropolitan train stations had these quirky signs - and these were designed by Hector Guimard - in Art Noveau style. I saw quite a number of these - one at Gare du Nord, and a number of others in the main city area, as well as one at the entrance of the biggest train station in Paris - Chatelet Les Halles. Chatelet Les Halles is also the largest underground train station in the world, and is a major intersection for many of the Paris metro train lines.
Other stations had these red signs indicating entrance to the underpass. These signs were known as totems, and were designed between the 1920s and 1930s. Here're 2 versions - the elaborate one (first picture) and the simplified one (second picture). Most of the metro stations are underground, and the metro network of Paris has been existing since 1900.
Our last stop? A pastry shop at the corner of two streets. Look how gorgeous the pastries are! We had lots of baguette, eclairs and croissants during our trip...and of course, I bought the most delicious chocolate cake from this shop! The lady was so happy to see me each time I went over to her shop!
And that wraps up today's post! I went to a total of 12 places in Paris - during my short 3-day stay. Although I didn't go to all the attractions I wanted (I had 15 in mind), I'm glad to say that I've covered quite a fair bit! And so - I'd like to share my adventures in the next few posts! Do stay tuned!