The Top Ten Churches in Paris
French Culture Seen Through Parisian Churches
A visit to Paris isn't complete without seeing some of its churches. From the Middle Ages to the Age of Reason, all French history is here!
Most tourists in Paris visit Versailles, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower. They probably visit Notre Dame and maybe Montmartre. But they don't visit any of the little churches that dot the capital – and they’re missing out.
Paris’ churches are full of variety. Some are Gothic, some Romanesque, some full-on Baroque. One’s even a copy of a Roman temple. Here are the top ten.
- Saint-Sulpice is a baroque church which was started in 1646. It’s a fine building though its two towers are mismatched. Inside, look out for Delacroix frescoes and the two enormous clam shells given to Francois I by the Republic of Venice which guard the door. It’s also a stop on any Da Vinci Code fan’s sightseeing tour – the meridian gnomon plays an important part in the book, as the ‘rose line’. And the church is famous for its huge Cavaillé-Coll organ, which you can hear at Sunday afternoon concerts.
- The Madeleine is one of Paris’ most striking churches. It certainly doesn't look like a church – it’s actually modelled on the Maison Carrée, a Roman temple in Nimes, in the south of France. After two false starts, it was left a useless building site at the French Revolution. Napoleon made it into a temple to the army – and that’s what you see today. Inside, the triple domes of the nave create a huge, echoing space. It was once slated for conversion to a railway station – and you can see why.
- Saint-Severin, in the Latin quarter, is one of the capital’s most intriguing churches. It’s a fifteenth century Gothic church, with a wonderful twisted column in the choir supporting a palm-tree like vault. It even retains some of its original Gothic stained glass.
- Saint-Eustache, near Les Halles, is another Gothic church – but a very late one; it wasn't finished until 1632. While the form is clearly Gothic, much of the ornamentation is Renaissance, making it a very strange amalgam of two distinct styles. This huge church has another one of Paris’ finest organs, which you can often hear played by master Jean Guillou. By the way, Mozart held his mother’s funeral here.
- Saint-Etienne du Mont, near the Panthéon, is another church where Renaissance meets Gothic. While the apse is flamboyant Gothic, high and airy, the nave is in a heavier Renaissance style. Inside its spacious interior is an amazing rood screen, with openwork spiral staircases on each side.
- Saint-Gervais et Saint-Protais was the church of the Couperin family, organists and composers of the French baroque. Their organ is still inside – and still in playing order. The surroundings are some of the most atmospheric in Paris, with two medieval houses in the cobbled street outside.
- Saint Germain des Prés is probably the oldest church in Paris, a fine Romanesque basilica. It was originally the church of a wealthy abbey, and gets its name - ‘Saint Germain in the Fields’ - from the fact that is was sited outside the walls of the medieval city. Its interior has been much restored but still has a feeling of monastic piety.
- Saint Germain l’Auxerrois was originally the ‘church of the Louvre’. This church’s bells signalled the start of the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of French Protestants in 1572. But the mainly Gothic church shows no trace of its bloody history; it’s a graceful structure with a fine tower.
- Saint Julien le Pauvre is a rare survivor of the twelfth century. A tiny, rather low church, it’s now home to a Melkite congregation - eastern catholics who observe the Byzantine rite. Visit on Sunday mornings and you’ll hear them singing mass, and smell the incense.
- Saint Jacques, unfortunately, has nothing left but the fine Gothic tower. But it’s a historic spot – pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela passed this church of Saint James on their way, paying their respects as they left the city.
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