From Wikipedia: "The Musee du Louvre, or officially Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre — is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet). The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are still visible. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 (the first anniversary of the monarchy's demise) with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The size of the collection increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed the Musee Napoleon. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic, except during the two World Wars. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings. By 1874, the Louvre Palace had achieved its present form of an almost rectangular structure with the Sully Wing to the east containing the square Cour Carree and the oldest parts of the Louvre; and two wings which wrap the Cour Napoleon, the Richelieu Wing to the north and the Denon Wing, which borders the Seine to the south. In 1983, French President Francois Mitterrand proposed the Grand Louvre plan to renovate the building and relocate the Finance Ministry, allowing displays throughout the building. Architect I. M. Pei was awarded the project and proposed a glass pyramid to stand over a new entrance in the main court, the Cour Napoleon. The pyramid and its underground lobby were inaugurated on 15 October 1988. The second phase of the Grand Louvre plan, La Pyramide Inversee (The Inverted Pyramid), was completed in 1993." The Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard (Cour Napoleon) of the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Completed in 1989, it has become a landmark of the city of Paris. Visitors entering through the pyramid descend into the spacious lobby then re-ascend into the main Louvre buildings. The Louvre museum states that the finished pyramid contains 673 glass panes (603 rhombi and 70 triangles)."

In English, it is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. This is located at the highest point of the city of Paris. Looking out to west from this facade is a good view of Paris city center. The facade with its triple-arched portico is surmounted by two bronze equestrian statues of St. Louis by H. Lefebvre(Left) and St. Joan of Arc(Right). Construction of this Basilica would start in 1875, and would be finished only after about 30 years. The left bronze statue is that of Joan of Arc -- a movie was made about her. She led the French army to several victories in the Hundred Years war. She was captured, tried in an ecclesiastical court, was sentenced to death and was burned at the stake at age 19, in the year 1491. Then, just 24 years later, the Pope found her innocent after reviewing the decision of the ecclesiastical court. She was then regarded as a martyr from then on. She was beatified, and then canonized just about 90 years ago(in 1920), and became one of the patron Saints of France. I've got to admit, I heard about this basilica name "Sacre-C?ur", and I don't even know how it is pronounced or what's the meaning of it. I would later learn that "Sacre" is a French term for Sacred. "C?ur" is for heart. Interestingly the following are the translations for sacred and heart in the neighboring countries... Sacred means: Sagrado in Spanish, sacro in Italian, Heilig german, Sanctus in Latin. Heart means: Herz in German, Corazon Spanish, Cuore Italiancuore Italian, viscus in Latin. For those residing in the Philippines, you probably have heard of the term "Sagrado Corazon" many times -- that was for "Sacred Heart" in Spanish. For some reason, the structure reminds me of the fictitious Minas Tirith -- that structure, the scene of the final battle of the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings. Basilique du Sacre-C?ur Butte Montmartre, Paris, France