Day 8: Paris - Montmarte and Sacre Coeur, Bastille Day fireworks

We took the Metro to Abbesses station, to the Montmarte neighborhood. There are a lot of steps via a curvy staircase upto the street level. We asked around for directions to the Funicular and reached the base where you pay one metro ticket to go up the hill to the Sacre Coeur.
In retrospect, it is possible to walk up the hill and skip the Funicular.
If you take the Metro to the Anvers stop, then you see the Sacre Coeur from far,  right when you come up to the street level.

Sacre Coeur, Paris

We entered the magnificient church of Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart), had a good look inside, and walked down the steps to the street level again. There are grassy areas around the steps and a nice spot to spend an evening. The Montmarte neighborhood is lively with lots of shops and restaurants, in one of which, ((Tabarok on Trois Freres ave) we had delicious Ratatouille (vegetarian) and chocolate crepes.

Candles in Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur - interior

From there we took the Metro to Champs Elysees, and the minute you come up near the Qatar Embassy, you see the Arc de Triomphe right in front of you. We took some pictures and went right back down the tunnel and walked over to the steps leading up to the Arc. Do not attempt to cross the street, as it is a roundabout with non-stop traffic. It being Bastille Day, there were quite a few soldiers who had come to pay their respects to the memorial of the Lone Soldier. What a day it must have been to see the French Army march triumphantly under the Arc after World War II.

Arc de Triomphe, Paris

Luminous Eiffel Tower

Fireworks for Bastille Day

Array of delicious macaroons at La Duree, Champs Elysees

We walked down the Champs Elysees, one of the most famous boulevards in the world, and past many fancy brand name stores. We were treated to macaroons at "La Duree" by friends, which were just so good - light and the flavors were so hard to pick with so many choices!!

Then had a Pizza dinner at Pizza Pino and finally took the Metro to Champs De Mars, to wait for the July 14 fireworks to start. The show started at 11pm and we enjoyed the fireworks with the beautiful Eiffel Tower in the backdrop. Paris definitely wins in the category of famous towers!