Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
SAINTE-CHAPELLE
Try to save Sainte-Chapelle for a sunny day, when Paris' oldest, finest stained
glass is at its dazzling, sun-lit best - the colours and glass-cut detail are both
extraordinary. Enshrined within the Palais de Justice (Law Courts), this gem-
like Holy Chapel is Paris' most exquisite Gothic monument. Peek at its exteri-
or (not a patch on its interior) from across the street, by the law courts' mag-
nificently gilded 18th-century gate facing rue de Lutèce.
Sainte-Chapelle was built in just six years (compared with nearly 200 years for Notre
Dame) and was consecrated in 1248. The chapel was conceived by Louis IX to house his
personal collection of holy relics, including the famous Ste-Couronne (Holy Crown), ac-
quired by the French king in 1239 from the emperors of Constantinople for a sum of money
easily exceeding the amount it cost to build the chapel! The wreath of thorns is safeguarded
today in the treasury at Cathédrale Notre Dame.
Statues, foliage-decorated capitals, angels and so on decorate this sumptuous, bijou
chapel. But it is the 1113 scenes depicted in its 15 floor-to-ceiling stained-glass windows -
15.5m high in the nave, 13.5m in the apse - that stun visitors. From the bookshop in the
former ground-floor chapel reserved for palace staff, spiral up the staircase to the upper
chapel, where only the king and his close friends were allowed. Grab a storyboard in Eng-
lish to 'read' the 15-window biblical story - from Genesis through to the resurrection of
Christ. To learn more rent an audioguide (€4.50/6 for one/two people) or join a 1½-hour
guided tour in English at 11am, 3pm or 4pm; no reservations necessary. Occasional classic-
al- and sacred-music concerts are also held here - a soul-stirring experience really not to be
missed.
