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Sacre-Coeur Dome; Ticket Machine/ U.S. VISA? Worth the View?

Posted by (Mars, PA, USA) on

RS book says "Dome-5 euros, ticket machine requires coins or Visa card, not covered by M.P." "For an unobstructed panoramic view of Paris, climb 260 feet up the tight and claustophobic spiral stairs to the top of the dome (especially worthwhile if you have kids with excess energy)."

2 Questions:
- I'm assuming this means that there is no one there manning a booth and we can only use the machine. Can I use a U.S. VISA Card or do I need a European one with the chip (or coins; we'd need coins for 6 ppl.)?

  • Is it worth going up? We have six people, so I don't want to waste time/money if it's not worth it.
Posted by
1455 posts

I didn't have the Mastercard with the chip and had no problem... but I would carry euro coins just in case.

My husband did it, and loved it but it depends on how much energy your group has when you get there

Posted by
576 posts

My family (girls now 15 and 19)have been climbing everything allowable over the past 6 years and 5 trips to Europe and Sacre Coeur is an all time favorite.

Posted by
4 posts

By all means, climb to the top! It's one of the most wonderful views in Paris. My son (6 years old at the time) was slightly freaked-out by his sense that we were climbing up very high, but even he ended up loving it. Sacre Coeur in general is one of my favorite sites in Europe, and the climb to the top is the icing on the cake.

Posted by
1806 posts

I thought it was worth the money, but you can get a very nice view of Paris if you just sit on the steps in front of Sacre-Couer. The climb up was not a big deal, but I was getting a little dizzy walking back down because the stairs are so tight in a spiral.

Posted by
213 posts

Thanks! Sounds like people mainly enjoyed the dome climb. My husband and I have been to the steps; spectacular view, so I was curious how much better it could be. I guess we'll take our chances on the machine taking our Visa...it would be a lot of coins for 6 of us to gather if we don't need to.

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