I’m kind of hoping that titling this post after the Paris Hilton sex tape will increase the page clicks and get my traffic up. If you’re here to see that, please see the end of the post.

There are a lot of ways to spend a night in Paris. Some of my favorites were Cinemas Au Plein Air – outdoor movies at Parc du Villettes, where I watched A Clockwork Orange and Badlands. Of course, long evenings at a café over wonderful conversation and wine are a time-honored tradition. There are also dance clubs, of course, if you’re interested in waiting until midnight for them to open their doors (and are willing to dance until 5am).

But I have to say that the best night I had in Paris was spent at church. I know, that’s kind of an unusual thing for an atheist to say but this was no ordinary church.

Sacre Coeur has the distinction of being one of Paris’s most beautiful icons, while simultaneously offering some of the best views of the city AND night time entertainment when the occasion is right.

A quick walk up after dinner in Montmartre, sitting on the steps, listening to music, people watching and drinking beer with good company. It really doesn’t get better than this.

Sacre Coeur as it looks during the day, shot from the Pompidou.

Sitting on the steps of Sacre Coeur, you can see the city while drinking ice cold beer at a bargain price of 2 Euros a bottle. The first bottles we bought were actually so cold, they were partially frozen. Heineken is the beer of choice for all the illegal vendors wandering the hillside toting around coolers. Until les gendarmes show up and they all scamper away, disappearing into the folds of the terrain.

Youri – a well known street musician, who frequently is found playing at Sacre Coeur amongst other places (including YouTube here). The crowd loved the cover songs, but his original tunes were actually wonderful. He talked about working on putting out a CD and I would actually consider picking it up, if he does.

One of the best views of the city available, dusk from the steps – my photography cannot do the sight justice. As the sun goes down, the City of Lights shows how it got its nickname.

Around midnight, the music and the crowds begin to subside as everyone heads to the last Metro.

And for those of you looking for sex tapes, thanks for staying around this long. Might I refer you to this site.