It was a 4-minute walk from our apartment to the Strasbourg-St. Denis Metro station. We had purchased a "carnet"--10 individual tickets for €14. The tickets can be shared. It'll save you money and you won't have to stand in line to buy a ticket each time.
We took the Metro to the Anvers station for the start of our walk.
We came out through one of the original Art Nouveau “Metropolitan” entrances.
The walk took us through a small street with souvenir shops galore. It was still early so it wasn't crowded yet. At the end of the street, you arrive at a small park with the Sacre Coeur at the top of the hill.
You can use another Metro ticket to ride the funicular. But, why do that? It's not that high a climb and you get a wonderful view of Sacre Coeur as you climb the terraced hillside. The hillside used to be dotted with gypsum mines--the original source of "Plaster of Paris."
Sacre Coeur is located on Paris’ highest point at 420 feet. The five-domed basilica took 44 years to build and was finished in 1919. There is a plaque on the wall near the Statue of St. Therese that outlined the location of the 13 bombs that fell on Montmartre in an Allied air raid in 1944. Fortunately, no one was killed and the basilica was not damaged. Near the exit are 3 stained glass windows telling the life of Jeanne d’Arc.
The Place du Tertre is the town square. It's ringed with shops and restaurants but the center is filled with artists, ready to draw your portrait.
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