Crowning the highest point in Paris with its iconic byzantine domes, Sacré Coeur holds a secure spot in the city’s top ten list of landmarks. Constructed in 1875, the Catholic Basilica was part of a larger push to empower the Roman Catholic Church in France’s Third Republic. Reflecting the ever-changing light of Paris on its pristine facade, it seems that the white stone of Sacré Coeur is bleached and scrubbed each new day. In fact, its travertine stone—quarried in Seine-et-Marne—slowly excretes calcite, keeping the walls of the sacred spot naturally brilliant white.

Climb up the steep stairs to this beacon on a hill and you will be rewarded with one of the most romantic look-outs in all of Paris, rendered cinematic by starry-eyed ingenues in films like Amélie and Sabrina.