Montmartre

Montmartre is a hill in Paris. The hill itself is arouns 130 metres tall. On top of this hill is a beautiful church. Paris has many churches of different and similar styles, new and old, but all of them are beautiful. The height of the church is more than 80 metres. If you live in a tall building in Paris, you can probably see the Church from your window.

Montmartre's church holds a special place in the list of churches. It is huge and splendid but also, it is on the top of a small hill. The view of Paris from the top gives a strong competition to the view from the Eiffel tower.

The open space, breeze (sometimes wind) and the relaxing environment with a cool guy impressing everyone with his acrobatics and stunts - being here is a bliss. Some gifted musicians also add awesomeness to the environment as they also sometimes try to make some money. The atmosphere can hardly get more pleasant! This is the reason why most Parisians keep coming back to the mountain - not to see something new- but to relax in the same maginificent environment.

The eveready cool stunt guy getting cheers and applause. You can catch him in action on youtube.

Going up the Hill

To reach at the top of the hill, it is possible to use buses but the more you walk, the more the fun. I have been to Montmartre more than a few times and never have I ever not walked. Many people also use the cable car to avoid the staircase.

You can also find people enjoying rides on "petit trains" (small trains) which are colorful recreational train-like vehicles carrying people around. They are fun!

On the way, uphill to Montmartre, there are many shops to buy items of clothing, small items to gift your friends, although you might find the area a bit costly, which is logical given its touristic importance. There are a lot of shops where you can buy momentos/souvenirs. Tiny Eiffel Towers and magnets with Parisian monuments are available in abundance, ad so are clothes and chocolates. Do not forget to visit an amazing chocolate shop which not only has amazing collection of truffles and different kinds of colorful beautiful chocolates, but also big beautiful chocolate-made models of the Notre Dame church, the Eiffel tower, and a random ship. You are probably not allowed to buy the big church or the Eiffel Tower, but you may be able to order one or simply buy a smaller chocolaty Eiffel Tower, which is way smaller compared to the big model but still big enough to be shared among a bunch of close ones!

Inside the church

If you go at night, you can see infinite shimmering lights all over the city of Paris.

Being an atheist and also being from a country where Hinduism is the major religion and Christians are a minority, I found the prayers interesting.

The inside of the church is really beautiful. The area inside the church is as enormous as you would imagine. A major part of the ceiling is a big painting of Jesus Christ which is really pretty. It is right above the altar. The painting is a huge Fresco and considering that the church was completed more than a hundred years ago, it is pretty impressive as well from an artistic point of view.

There are various sculptures inside and taking pictures of allowed. There is no fee to enter the church and only a security check is required in order to enter. There is, of course, a lot of beautiful glass painting work. Although I do not know the technical term for it. There is also a mini Montmartre within the Montmartre church. It is detailed and beautiful and cute! A white statue of Mary (mythologically the mother of Jesus Christ) looks serene and beautiful with a number of red candles in front of it.

The church also has a huge history behind it and has seen tough times like being seized by armies during wars.

The open space

There is always a healthy number of tourists in the arena and hanging out with friends in the open space in front of the church and the city of Paris below is definitely a great experience for all visitors. Yes, it's true, the place is so easy that you don't have to think before choosing it as a picnic spot. Almost everyone sitting there is not in a hurry to do some work. They just sit there and spend some quality time with their friends or family.

By inserting a couple of euros into the available binoculars, you can zoom in on the city. Spend as much time as you wish and enjoy to the fullest.

Looking at the fireworks of Montmartre from one of the streets as the huge number of people makes it impossible to go any further! It was an amazing experience.

Every year as the autumn arrives, there is a splendid celebration at Montmartre which if you wish to see, you better be early. There are a lot of fireworks in this festival called Vendanges de Montmartre. The fireworks go on for more than half an hour. By the time the fireworks start, there is so much crowd that you will be stuck in the crowd and forced to see the fireworks standing on a street far far away from the top of the hill. Yes, you cannot walk ahead through the crowd, so be on time!

Transport

Montmartre is in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.

There are many options to reach Montmartre and its church. If you are okay with walking up the hill, then you can take the metro options, for example, the station Anvers on line 2. In case you wish to go up the hill without having to walk, there are buses that can transport you to near the church.

I would definitely recommend visiting Montmartre. In fact, including that of many French people and foreigners, it is one of my favorite places in Paris.

Want to know more? Interested in New Year's Eve celebrations? Check out this post.