This is at top of Montmantre and in the background is Sacre Coeur.
I was told that there was a rivalry between the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur. I am unsure if it is true but I am inclined to believe it.
As the story goes, both the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur were completed around the same time. Sacre Coeur Basilica, a Roman Catholic church, sit on the highest point in Paris while the architect of the Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel, aimed to make the Tower as the tallest structure of all Paris. There was a greater honor at stake: which pinnacle would be higher than the other?
Even though the Tower was, and still is, very tall, Sacre Coeur sit on Montmantre, making the Basilica’s pinnacle a contender.
What makes the rivalry interest was the fact that Sacre Coeur symbolizes religion and the old order. Eiffel wanted his work to symbolize science and technology. He said, “My tower will lit up the world, leading it out of the darkness of ignorance”, or something like that.
I am glad Eiffel won. The Eiffel Tower was in fact the tallest man-made structure in the whole world from 1889 to 1930.
Regardless of that, Sacre Coeur is still beautiful.
And I still miss Montmantre.