Montmartre & Northern Paris

Begun in 1875 in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War and the chaos of the Paris Commune, Sacré-Cœur is a symbol of the former struggle between the conservative Catholic old guard and the secular, republican radicals. It was finally consecrated in 1919, standing in contrast to the bohemian lifestyle that surrounded it. The view over Paris from its parvis is breathtaking. Avoid walking up the steep hill by using a regular metro ticket aboard the funicular to the upper station.

Spanning 55 hectares, this vast city park is a cultural centre, kids playground and landscaped urban space at the intersection of two canals, the Ourcq and the St-Denis. Its futuristic layout includes the colossal mirror-like sphere of the Géode cinema and the bright-red cubical pavilions known as folies. Among its themed gardens are the Jardin du Dragon (Dragon Garden), with a giant dragon’s tongue slide for kids, Jardin des Dunes (Dunes Garden) and Jardin des Miroirs (Mirror Garden).

The home of art collectors Nélie Jacquemart and Édouard André, this opulent late-19th-century residence combines elements from different eras – seen here in the presence of Greek and Roman antiquities, Egyptian artefacts, period furnishings and portraits by Dutch masters. Its 16 rooms offer an absorbing glimpse of the lifestyle of Parisian high society: from the library, hung with canvases by Rembrandt and Van Dyck, to the marvellous Jardin d’Hiver – a glass-paned garden room backed by a magnificent double-helix staircase.

Once one of France's most sacred sites, this basilica was built atop the tomb of St Denis, the 3rd-century martyr and alleged first bishop of Paris who was beheaded by Roman priests. By the 6th century it had become the royal necropolis. Almost all of France’s kings and queens from Dagobert I (r 629–39) to Louis XVIII (r 1814–24) are buried here, including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (42 kings and 32 queens in total).

Few visitors can resist a selfie in front of Montmartre's 'I Love You' wall, a public artwork created in a small park by artists Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito in the year 2000. Made from 511 dark-blue enamel tiles, the striking mural features the immortal phrase 'I love you' 311 times in nearly 250 different languages (the red fragments, if joined together, would form a heart). Find a bench beneath a maple tree and brush up your language skills romantic-Paris-style.