Sacre Coeur

There are many famous cathedrals in Paris, one of which is the landmark Sacre Coeur Basilica (the Basilica of the Sacred Heart). The exterior is made of ornately carved white stone, arching into domes that tower over a good portion of the city because the cathedral is built on top of a huge hill. You can skip climbing the hill, though, if you don't feel like taking that many stairs.

If you want to skip the stairs, you can take this mini-train. Apparently there's a funuicular with a great view, too

What really inspired me about Sacre Coeur, though, was when we went inside. It's a silent church, so people are technically not supposed to talk while inside, but it's also a popular tourist spot, so there's a pretty constant stream of quiet whispers. The only times when the church officially has noise, however, is during mass - which was when we happened to be there.

Being a Christian, I decided to attend the service, which was one of the better ideas I've ever had. It was really powerful to just sit in the pews, looking up at a giant painting of God with his arms outstretched, and just reflect. I didn't understand a word of the service, nor could I understand the lyrics of the music, but when the choir began to sing? There are some things that transcend language, and this was definitely one of them. It was a deeply moving, awe-inspiring experience. I now understand why people built cathedrals; being so completely surrounded by beauty really makes it easy to connect with and think about God.

Sacre Coeur definitely has things to offer non-Christians, too, though. One of the people I was with is Hindu, so I'm not sure how she felt about the whole 'going to mass' experience, but she did agree that the cathedral was beautiful, and we all plan on going back together later this summer.

It's very dark inside the cathedral, though it was very bright outside, so all of the stained glass literally glowed.

Next time we visit, we plan to go to the top of the dome; the line was kind of long while we were there, so we didn't get to do that part yet.

Logistics Note: I can't quite figure out the best format for sharing all of the photos I took; I don't want to use a gallery because it leaves everything thumbnail-sized, and I don't want to use a slideshow because it doesn't allow captions. Thus, I am forced to list all of them here; I apologize for how much you'll have to scroll.