June 13th ~ Paris : MonMartre & Sacre-Coeur Part 2

We walked off and continued on to the funicular railway up to Sacre-Coeur, only to be greeted numerous vans , support vehicles and a Marquee and finishing line for a cycle race around MonMartre, directly below Sacre -Coeur. Not sure if it was a leg of the Tour de France indicated on posters. After a coffee, joined the crowds entering the Church, which had a full service in progress with a packed congregation, with us tourists pouring in. Stayed for 5 minutes, observing the beautiful Church, and left the service and walked around MonMartre and the famous La Place de Tertre, with its cafes, restaurants, and itinerant portrait artists. Far too many people, but a fantastic atmosphere. After our picnic lunch, we wandered around other parts of MonMartre, and tried to find the best vantage point for the cycle race, which started at 2 pm.


Eventually established that it was a time-trial , and took pics of the first finishers, and other parts of course running up 10 flights of stairs carrying their bikes and riding back down the 10 flights.