Guided tours (20 minutes) are part of the entry fee, but at this time, the basilica is not open for any tourist activities. The spectacular orchestral light show Aura Basilica is currently not running, but when it resumes, expect a dazzling performance that celebrates the beauty of the basilica. Rebuilt in a hodgepodge of historic and contemporary styles after a 1978 fire, its most eye-catching element is the floor-to-ceiling bronze altarpiece. Chapelle du Sacré CœurĪ popular place for regular Montréalers to tie the knot is the much smaller Chapelle du Sacré Cœur behind the main altar. It's said to be the biggest bell in North America. The bell in the West Tower, known as Jean-Baptiste, weighs nearly 12 tons (10,900 kg). Check if the Take a Seat at the Organ tour is running, as it allows you to get up close. The basilica is home to a famous 7000-pipe Casavant Frères organ, which you can hear played at festivals and concerts throughout the year.
#And then there was light notre dame montreal windows#
The windows show scenes from Montréal's history © meunierd / Shutterstock The organ The basilica made headlines in 1994 when singer Céline Dion was married under its soaring midnight-blue ceiling, and again in 2000 when Jimmy Carter and Fidel Castro shared pall-bearing honors at the state funeral of former Canadian prime minister, Pierre Trudeau.
He converted to Catholicism from Protestantism so he could have his funeral in the basilica, and is buried in the crypt.Įverything, from the great bell in the western tower to the 1891 organ with its 7000 pipes and the stained-glass windows depicting the city’s history, speaks of the strong faith of the congregations of yesteryear. Originally it was a humble building dating from 1683 The Sulpicians commissioned architect James O’Donnell to design what would be the largest church north of Mexico. Montréal's famous landmark, Notre Dame Basilica, is a 19th-century Gothic Revival masterpiece with spectacular craftsmanship – a visually pleasing, if slightly gaudy, symphony of carved wood, paintings, gilded sculptures and stained-glass windows.
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