Visiting Notre - Dame Basilica of Montreal
Monday, October 26, 2015 |
| Outside Notre - Dame Basilica |
I managed to stop by on New Year's Eve of 2008 and unfortunately, the camera I had at the time was a point and shoot set to night scene. Since I didn't have a tripod or knew I needed one, the exterior lights on Notre -Dame turned out blurry so there's no use of posting them here.
May-Mei and I arrived a little after 12:30pm after walking around the square taking pictures in the light rain.
Entrance to the Basilica was $5 CAD - cash only and we joined a tour about 10 minutes into discussion. During the tour, we learned about the construction, financing and renovations.
What was impressive was the materials such as the wood and stone were all locally sourced in Montreal.
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| Notre - Dame Basilica interior |
Our tour guide went on about the major dignitaries who have married, baptized their children and who had their funerals here. Celine Dion married and baptized her first child here along with Pope John Paul II celebrating a children's mass in 1984.
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| The organ of the Basilica |
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| Notre - Dame du Sacré Couer chapel |
Our tour guide also discussed the Great Organ which consisted of 7,000 pipes and included the largest pipes measuring at 32 feet to the smallest pipes at 6 millimeters.
The Great Organ undergone several restorations and several stops were installed.
We then moved on to the Notre - Dame du Sacré Couer chapel, where a more intimate gathering takes place. A majority of the weddings are held in the Sacré Couer chapel since it seats about 200.
If the main basilica was stunning with the organ, stained glass windows and pulpits, then the Sacré Couer chapel is equally as beautiful.
According to the Notre - Dame basilica website, the acoustics are excellent here so it makes you wonder what a wedding would be like here with the organ playing in the background.
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