Day 10   Paris -- Montmartre District, Pere Lachaise Cemeterie

Montmartre as seen from Central Paris

After our buffet breakfast at the Hotel, we departed by Metro to the Montmartre District of Paris.  This district is on a hill in the northern part of Paris and overlooks all of Paris.  When looking at the hill from anywhere else in Paris, you can plainly see the Sacre-Coeur Basilica sitting at the top of the hill.  This area is a famous tourist stop because of the Basilica and because of its colorful history.  The community has existed for almost as long as Paris has, but tourists like us have been most interested in its more recent past, especially the late 1800's and early 1900's.  At that time, it was the home for a collection of artists and writers who produced art and literature that has been appreciated and studied throughout the world.  These artists and writers created a bohemian scene when they gathered to eat, drink, and talk.  We found the district as expected, quaint and crawling with tourists.  The basilica was built from 1876 to 1912, so even though it looks older, it is from this same era.


Montmartre's Sacre-Coeur Basilica

The name "Hill of Martyrs," as it can be translated, comes from the fact that St. Denis who had been sent from Rome to convert the local heathens was beheaded and is buried near Sacre-Coeur.  He has become the patron saint of France.  In its past, the area served as a source of gypsum that has been used in Paris for centuries for coating buildings.  The gypsum was mined from the hill, leaving it honeycombed with tunnels.  The overlook of the city has made it  desirable from its use as a strategic military site. Then came the artists and writers.  Some of the artists who lived and worked there were Monet, Van Gogh, Utrillo, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne, Modigliani, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picaso and much more recently Dali.

Some of the famous writers were Zola, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Hughes, and Stein.  The composer Satie lived and worked there also.  Several movies have featured Montmartre:  Moulin Rouge, Amilie, La Vie en Rose.  And Puccini's opera La Boheme was based on a play set in Montmartre.

Montmartre Funicula

Now for our own visit to Montmartre:  We planned our Metro trip carefully because there were no direct lines from Plaza Republique to Montmartre.  We would have to take a train from Republique and change at Bellville to another train that would take us to Anvers.  This caused no problems and we arrived at the hill by mid-morning.  The first choice was whether to walk the thousands of steps up the hill or take the Funicula (for the same cost as a subway ride -- even using the same tickets).  We rode.  The top landing is near the Basilica, but there were many more steps before we were at its doors.  We mingled with the several thousand other people who were milling about the Basilica or touring its cool dark interior.  We went in and were astounded by the massive Roman structure with its domes and arches, its mosaics of tile, its massive stained glass windows set high near the ceiling, and its quiet, reverent atmosphere.  People were walking around the edges looking at the building and its artwork, but not talking.  People were sitting in the pews looking around and some appeared to be praying.  No photographs were allowed in Sacre-Coeur.  (Photographs of the Basilica, both inside and out are at http://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/us/basilique.html

Sacre-Coeur Entry

We emerged about 30 minutes later into the bright sun of the steps and gazed over the city from the vantage point.  Next we walked up the rue to the adjacent church, Sainte-Pierre.  This was a much older church and the information on it said it even contains some columns of Roman age.  Its history goes back to the 3rd century; it is thought to be the place of origin for the Jesuit Order; it was a Benedictine Abbey; it was destroyed during the revolution and rebuilt in the 19th century.  The stained glass windows of both Sacre-Coeur and Sainte-Pierre were destroyed by concussion blasts during World War II and have been replaced with new windows since then.

Sainte-Peirre Church

Sainte-Pierre Church Nave

Sainte-Pierre Window

We left this church to wander through Artist's Square where many artists were selling their works and others were producing sketches of people who would pay.  By now, we were hungry again and found the noted Bolulangerie (bakery) With a View.  We had chocolate croissants, which were very tasty, and sat and visited with another couple from our tour that we encountered.  Ignoring all of the tourist trinkets and artwork that was for sale all along the streets, we went to the Dali Espace, paid our admission of 11€, even though it seemed high, and went in to view the collection of Dali's work.  Here we saw the strangest collection of paintings, water colors, and sculptures that may exist anywhere.  Dali must have had an obsession with clocks (or distorted time) because there were clock faces (distorted) on much of his work.  It was interesting, but I didn't know what to think of an elephant with a glass pyramid on its back and long legs like a flamingo.  We left the Dali Espace and walked on down the hill  to look at Picasso's studio.  It wasn't open to the public, but we saw where he and a number of other artists produced their art.  There was much to see such as the Montmartre Museum and the Montmartre Cemetery, but we needed a rest, especially from museums.  We looked for one last sight, the Moulin Rouge.  We found it down the hill on a busy boulevard with a variety of shops and a large collection of bars and night clubs.  It had the windmill on the top and was painted red.

Montmartre Street Scene

Boulangerie with a View

Chocolate Croissant

Dali Elephant

Dali Clock

Picasso Studio

Moulin Rouge

After sitting on a bench in the boulevard's center island for a while watching people, we boarded the Metro bound for Pere LaChaise Cemeterie on the east side of Paris.  This is an old cemetery where many famous people have been buried.  It was full of old and new grave markers and stones, many of which were elaborate structures with statues and carvings.  Some of the graves were in extreme disrepair, while nearby ones were well kept -- we saw one that was being sanded and refinished.  We had a list of famous graves in this cemetery, and we set out on our treasure hunt to find them. 

Pere LaChaise Cemeterie

We found the grave of Jim Morrison, the rock singer, who died in 1971.  His grave was in a crowded section and had a small marker of granite and was outlined with stone.  The grave was covered with wilted flowers.  We were able to find it because here was a crowd of people around it.

Jim Morrison

Molliere

We found the grave of Chopin, which was marked with a statue of an angel (finding this one required the use of the GPS to identify exactly where we were and how the "chemins" were laid out). 

Chopin

Rossini

We found the graves of Rossini, Modigliani, Edith Piaf, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, and others.  At Edith Piaf's grave, we saw a woman place flowers on the grave and kneel in meditation.  Gertrude Stein's stone was very plain with only her name on it, which made it hard to find.  Oscar Wilde's stone was surrounded with glass that was covered with grafiti. 

Edith Piaf

Holocaust Memorial

We were "touristed out," so we headed back to the Metro for a ride back to Republique Plaza and a rest.  We had dinner at a local restaurant, nothing special, and packed for our early morning departure back home.  Our exploration of Paris was over.