I love to take the metro in Paris.  We took the subway to Concorde, which is a beautiful station painted purple with purple chairs.  We changed over to another line heading for the Abbess Station in Monmartre.

This is a photo of the Abbess Station which                 still has the old glass over the top which says Metropolitain.

After you get off the train and walk several small blocks, you are faced with this immense flight of steps, which number over 300.  These are the steps up to the base of the Basilique du Sacré Coeur,  Just kidding, there is also the Funiculaire de Monmartre which is an electric rail car if you prefer.  You can see it to the right side of the staircase in this picture.

The Basilique du Sacré Coeur is a Roman Catholic Church which construction began in 1875.  It sits high on a hill above all of Paris and the views from there are fantastic.  It is a very beautiful church made of limestone.

Monmartre means the hill of the martyr as St. Denis was said to have been beheaded here.  He was the Bishop of Paris.

I took this photo to the left from inside the Funiculaire on the way up.

Monmartre is where you will find the artists.  If you would like a portrait to take home, it is here that you will want to go.  Not far from here is the red light district called Pigalle.  In Pigalle, you will see the Moulin Rouge, nightclubs and concert halls.  You may remember Maurice Chevalier singing about Place Pigalle.  Mr. Chevalier was born in Paris.

This was a street entertainer in the Village of Monmartre.  This talented entertainer sang and played the accordion.  After a few more steps you will come upon another.  You will hear them in the metro stations as well.

It was just a beautiful afternoon to walk around the square viewing all the different paintings and sketches offered for sale.  It is such fun too to pause and watch the artist’s hand while he is drawing a portrait.  It is really something to watch how one can transform a blank sheet of paper into a beautiful work of art.

We found a wonderful little restaurant not far from the Basilica and stopped to have lunch.  We are still talking about how much we enjoyed the meal.

We walked back to the metro station to catch the train back.  As we were changing trains at Concorde, we met with the most fantastic Russian orchestra.  They were so talented and fantastic to listen to that we just had to stop.  I pulled out my camera to take a photo.  How often do I get the opportunity to enjoy an authentic Russian Orchestra?

I hope I get the chance to catch them again because I would really love to buy their CD to enjoy at home.  I have to say it again, they were so good and it was so much fun to listen to them sing and play.

It was a great day in Monmartre.