2 min walk · Paris 18e Arrondissement
carmel de Montmartre
- High
- Place of worship
Historic site · Paris 18e Arrondissement, Paris
Sacré-Cœur
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur
- Today
- Open today, 06:30 – 22:30
- Visit duration
- 45 min Editorial visit time estimate
- Accessibility
- Partly step-free
- Price
- Free entry
- Standing
- Must see · Heritage site
- Rank
- Rank 8 of 7,609
Plan your visit.
Opening hours
| Monday | 06:30 – 22:30 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 06:30 – 22:30 |
| Wednesday | 06:30 – 22:30 |
| Thursday | 06:30 – 22:30 |
| Friday | 06:30 – 22:30 |
| Saturday | 06:30 – 22:30 |
| Sunday | 06:30 – 22:30 |
Checked 2026-11-03 · Source
About Sacré-Cœur
Sacré-Cœur was built as an apology. After France lost the war of 1870, Bishop Felix Fournier proposed a church as an act of national penitence, reading the defeat as divine punishment for the country's moral decline since the Revolution. Paul Abadie won the competition against 77 other proposals. Work started in 1875, five architects succeeded one another over forty years, the building was finished in 1914 and consecrated in 1919.
Checked 2026-08-31 · Source
What's inside
The largest mosaic in France, one of the world's heaviest bells, and continuous prayer since 1885. The apse mosaic, The Triumph of the Sacred Heart, covers 475 m² in 25,000 enamelled and gilded ceramic pieces. The Cavaillé-Coll organ has 109 ranks and 78 stops. The Savoyarde bell in the campanile weighs 18,835 kg. Perpetual adoration of the Holy Eucharist has been maintained here without a break since 1885, which means somebody is praying in this building at every hour of every night.
Checked 2026-08-31 · Source
How long to spend
An hour for the basilica, two if you climb the dome and stay for the view. The interior is one large space and is read quickly; the mosaic is the reason to stand still. The dome climb is a long spiral and the platform at the top gives the widest view over Paris available from any building in the city, because Montmartre puts the base of it 130 m above the river before the dome starts.
Checked 2026-08-31 · Source
Season and crowds
The basilica opens daily 06:30-22:30; dome and crypt use shorter seasonal hours.
Checked 2026-08-31 · Source
Tickets
Basilica entry is free; dome access uses a separate paid ticket. The base amount and currency follow the operator tariff; premium products and separate institutions remain excluded unless named.
Checked 2026-11-03 · Source
Getting there
Metro Anvers, then funicular or stairs to the basilica; Abbesses also serves Montmartre.
Checked 2026-08-31 · Source
What to watch out for
An accessible route serves principal lower or public areas, but stairs, historic fabric or summit routes limit the complete circuit. Historic surfaces, crowds and security remain relevant.
Checked 2026-08-31 · Source
Photography
Photography inside the basilica is prohibited. The mosaic cannot be taken and asking will not change that. Outside, the building faces south, so it is lit all day and is at its whitest after rain. From the dome platform the view is the widest in Paris; a wide lens flattens it, and a short telephoto picking out the Eiffel Tower or the Panthéon across the roofs is the stronger picture.
Checked 2026-11-03 · Source
Place details and sources
- Building
- Church OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
- Type of place
- Attraction OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
- Established
- 1875 Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
- Heritage designation
- monument historique inscrit Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
- Architectural style
- Byzantine Revival architecture Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
- Religion
- Christian OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
- Denomination
- Catholic OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
- Material
- travertine Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
- Height
- 83 m Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
- Architect
- Paul Abadie Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
- Wikipedia article
- Sacré-Cœur, Paris Wikipedia · Checked 2026-09-09
- Website Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
- View on Wikidata
Common questions
What are the regular hours?
The basilica opens daily 06:30-22:30; dome and crypt use shorter seasonal hours.
What is base admission?
Basilica entry is free; dome access uses a separate paid ticket.
Is the complete route step-free?
An accessible route serves principal lower or public areas, but stairs, historic fabric or summit routes limit the complete circuit.
Which public transport is named?
Metro Anvers, then funicular or stairs to the basilica; Abbesses also serves Montmartre.
Can operations alter access?
Yes. Worship, events, maintenance, weather and security can change ordinary access.
Are premium products included?
No. Special tours, exhibitions and upgrades use separate tickets.
Questions about visiting this season
When is the Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre in 2026?
The 93rd Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre runs from Wednesday 7 to Sunday 11 October 2026. The 2026 edition is themed on music, under the motto “Le 18e donne le rythme”, and its five days of concerts, shows, tastings and festivities spread across the whole 18th arrondissement rather than the hill alone.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
Do the Montmartre harvest festival events cost anything?
No, every event in the official festival programme is free. Food and drink sold by exhibitors on the Parcours du Goût can be paid by card or in cash, but the organisers warn that there is only one cash machine on the Butte Montmartre; others are near the Abbesses and Lamarck-Caulaincourt metro stations.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
What is the Parcours du Goût, and when is it open?
The Parcours du Goût is the festival's food and wine trail, set up around the Sacré-Cœur. In 2026 it is open from 10:00 to 23:00 on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October, and from 10:00 to 19:00 on Sunday 11 October. The festival describes it as the famous tasting trail at the foot of the basilica.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
When are the Ban des Vendanges and the Grand Défilé?
Both take place on Saturday 10 October 2026 at the Vignes du Clos Montmartre. The Ban des Vendanges, which marks the start of the harvest, runs from 9:45 to 11:30, and the Grand Défilé, the festival parade of the arrondissement's traditions and talents, follows from 11:45 to 13:30.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
Can I visit the Clos Montmartre vineyard during the festival?
Yes, guided visits of the Clos Montmartre vineyard run on 7 October at 11:00, 8 October at 14:00, 9 October at 14:00 and 16:00, and 11 October at 11:00, 14:00 and 15:00. They are led by historian and lecturer Jean-Manuel Gabert, and places are booked on the festival website, where reservations opened on 14 September.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
Why does Montmartre hold a grape harvest festival?
Montmartre has celebrated its vines since 1934, a year after new vines were planted at the corner of rue des Saules and rue Saint-Vincent to stop a property development. The nuns of the Abbey of Montmartre first planted vines there in the 12th century, and they had vanished completely by 1928. Mistinguett and Fernandel sponsored the first festival.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
What happens to the wine from the Clos Montmartre vineyard?
The Cuvée du Clos Montmartre is sold to fund social projects in the 18th arrondissement. City of Paris gardeners tend the vineyard all year, and the Comité des Fêtes et d'Actions Sociales du 18e (COFAS) is responsible for the winemaking under an oenologist, the bottling in the cellars of the 18th arrondissement town hall and the sales.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
How do I get to the Montmartre harvest festival, and can I drive?
Metro lines 2, 4, 12 and 13 serve every festival venue, along with many bus lines. The organisers strongly advise against driving up the Butte, where motor access may be banned from Thursday 8 October, and parking is prohibited from 5 to 14 October on rue Azaïs, rue du Cardinal Dubois, rue Saint-Éleuthère and rue du Chevalier de la Barre.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
Is the festival accessible to visitors with reduced mobility?
Yes, step-free access is planned at every official festival venue, and the Parcours du Goût has a reserved access via the Montmartre funicular at place Suzanne Valadon. The organisers also publish a stair-free street route from place Suzanne Valadon up to place du Tertre, starting on rue Tardieu and ending on rue Norvins.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
When does the Montmartre funicular run during the festival weekend?
The funicular runs on Friday 9 October from 6:00 to 1:45, and on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October from 6:00 to 19:00, with no reopening until the next morning. The organisers point out that it is therefore closed from 19:00 to 23:00 on the Saturday and Sunday evenings of the festival.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
Are there bag checks at the festival venues?
Yes, at the request of the Paris police prefecture and under the Vigipirate plan, bags and people are systematically checked at every entrance to the official festival venues, and anyone who refuses is turned away. The organisers may also close access to a site if it becomes too crowded. The security and Red Cross posts are in Square Nadar.
Checked 2026-09-30 · Source
Is the Sacré-Cœur basilica open during the harvest festival?
The Sacré-Cœur basilica is open every day without exception from 6:30 to 22:30, and visiting it is free, according to the basilica's own website. The site also invites visitors to climb up to the dome for a view over Paris after seeing the mosaics and chapels inside.
Checked 2026-10-01 · Source
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Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·