walking tour: basilique du sacre coeur, montmartre, and environs

today some friends and i took the metro up to montmartre and went to see the basilique du sacre coeur. we exited the metro in the middle of a local flea market! it was a short walk to the sacre coeur, but there was a decent hill to reach it (some opted to take the mini-tram up to the top). i was surprised to see how crowded it was at that hour (just after 11 am). but, in addition to the basilica, the site had incredible vistas of the city.

from there we did a walking tour of the neighborhood. we took in the place du tertre (crowded and noisy, but we'd be back there for lunch) and walked up to the vineyard, au lapin agile (the nimble rabbit), and even scoped out the dali musuem (but since i'd seen the dali exhibit at moma in august, skipped going inside). we had lunch at chez la mere catherine, au fresco (which included, for me, a dish of grilled frogs legs).

here are some pictures:


i resist the urge to load up on some 70's era memories!




this flea market had its own merry-go-round!


while we skipped flea market purchases, we did stop in some
local shops on the way to sacre coeur.


decision time: walk the stairs or take the tram?


view from the top: we beat the tram up.


local entertainment.


local entertainment.


view of the montmartre vineyard.


au lapin agile.


another view of the vineyard.


signs for the dali museum.


the dali musuem.


place de tertre (chez la mere catherine).


view from top of the hill!