Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

After my visit to Musée de Montmartre, my heart rate was low enough to make an attempt on the summit, which is crowned by Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, a not particularly splendid church built in the 19th Century. It was, apparently, against the wishes of many of the more radical locals, who thought it against the spirit of the place. 

As it turns out, I’m with the radical locals. It’s noted for its panoramic (fuck it, when is a view from the top of a hill not panoramic?) view of Paris. Now, I can’t actually attest to the quality of the view, as it was teeming with tour groups all madly snapping photos over the heads of other tour groups. I’m pretty sure most photos turned out like mine:

The car park at the front of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur features in many of Claude Lelouche’s films. Claude is my all-time favourite film director, and he used the location in his 1976 nouveau-bogan classic, C'était un rendez-vous. The film is a mere 8 minutes of a single shot from the front of a car being driven at break-neck speed through Paris. To be honest, it’s probably not Claude’s finest film, but why take my word for it? Make your own mind up. Here, Mesdames et Messieurs, is the full, unexpurgated C'état un rendez-vous.

Frankly, Lucy Jordan, you did yourself a favour not driving through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in your hair.