Montemarte
Saturday,
June 7, 2025 Montmartre
After sleeping a bit late and then a leisurely breakfast (leisurely just because we poked along, NOT because breakfast was anything special because it wasn’t) we headed back up to the Basilica and the residential area of Montmartre. And used the last of our metro rides to take the funicular back up.
We noticed yesterday that many of the railings along the courtyards in front of the Basilica are festooned with “love locks”. This trend began 10 or so years ago and involves putting the names of lovers on a lock, attaching it to a bridge or other railing, and throwing away the key.
The
practice has caused much concern among engineers who worry about all the added
weight of hundreds of thousands of locks on older bridges. In some cities they are routinely removed,
only or the cycle to begin again.
Here at the Basilica, signs were posted proclaiming the hanging of locks illegal. But right next to these signs were people selling locks!
The Church of St Peter (next to the Basilica) is where many of the local people worship and dates back to the 12th century. The vaulted center roof was added in the 15th century. The church is simple but beautiful. It is lined with stained glass windows constructed quite recently in the 1900’s.
Inside
the church are four columns dating to the Roman occupation of France (or
Gaul). These columns are said to have
come from the temple of Mercury located farther down the hill in Montmartre.
The
baptistry is where most Montmartre citizens begin their religious lives. It is constructed of stone in the shape of
the basket in which Moses was said to have been set afloat in the Nile River. Above, a stained glass window rings the area
in brilliant colors.
Our
walk through Montmartre today brought us by some of the same sites we visited yesterday,
but also some new ones. The Clos
Montmartre Vineyard is situated on a small lot in a residential
neighborhood. It actually produces a few
hundred bottles of wine each year. These
bottles are auctioned off at the wine festival each October.
There
were also some colorful flowers planted along the front of the vineyard.
On
the wall of one of the buildings across from the Hotel Becquerel is a mural of
the Chamber of Secrets (from the Harry Potter books).
It
was sprinkling rain off and on so we made a long rambling walk back to the
hotel. Long and rambling because we were
taking our time, and because we were trying to avoid stairs in this very hilly
area. Along the way we took a couple
more shots of the neighborhood.
We also passed a realtor’s office. Several homes were listed in the range of e750,000 to e850,000 for a 600-700 ft2 apartment!!!
