This wedding cake-white church rises visibly above the north part of Paris. The striking building, with its towers and white onion dome (83 m high), was built between 1875-1914 on the birthplace of La Commune, officially as an act of penitence for the sins committed during the civil war in which thousands of Communards were executed, as well as for the previous bloodshed of the 1870 Franco-Prussian war. A number of prominent businessmen put up the money, and a dizzying combination of architects worked to put together the mock Romano-Byzantine extravaganza. Consecration followed in 1919. The view over Paris from the dome and from the square before it (200 m above sea level) is unsurpassed, apart from that enjoyed at the Eiffel Tower (50 km on a clear day). For the athletic traveller there are stairs from several directions to the top of the hill; otherwise there is also a funicular which runs every few minutes during the daytime from Place St. Pierre. Follow the signs that say "Funiculaire De Montmartre". Beware that the guards don't like it if they catch you taking pictures inside and will even yell "No photo!" and chase you down if they see you with a camera. Be warned: along the lower steps leading up to church, groups of mostly young African men gather and reach toward you with a small string, offering to loop it round your finger. In case it happens, pull back your hand, brush them off and move on. They might claim that "This is for the church." In case your feel that things go sideways, raise your voice to get people's attention and ask them call the police.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre), commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur) or simply Sacré-Cœur (French: Sacré-Cœur, pronounced [sakre kœr]), is a Catholic church and minor basilica in Paris dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the summit of the butte of Montmartre. From its dome two hundred meters above the Seine, the basilica overlooks the entire city of Paris and its suburbs. It is the second most popular tourist destination in the capital after the Eiffel Tower.

The basilica was first proposed by the former Bishop of Nantes, Felix Fournier, in 1870, after France's defeat and Napoleon III's capture at the Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War. Attributing the defeat to the country's moral decline since the French Revolution, he proposed a new Parisian church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Although early proposals were discussed some months before the Paris Commune, its prominent hilltop location—overlooking the site of the uprising—was only built upon after the Commune's defeat, making it continuously controversial among some of the French left-wing, who view it as a symbol of the violent repression of the Communards.

The basilica was designed by Paul Abadie, whose neo-Byzantine-Romanesque plan was selected from among seventy-seven proposals. Construction began in 1875 and continued for forty years under five different architects. Completed in 1914, the basilica was formally consecrated in 1919 after World War I. It was formally approved as a monument historique on 8 December 2022.