Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cost and Hours:
€7.50, under 18 free, covered by Museum Pass, daily 10:00-18:30
in summer, until 18:00 in winter, last entry 45 minutes before closing, Mo: Cardinal
Lemoine, tel. 01 44 32 18 00,
http://pantheon.monuments-nationaux.fr
.
Visiting the Panthéon:
Inside the vast building (360' by 280' by 270') are monu-
mentstracingthecelebratedstrugglesoftheFrenchpeople:abeheadedSt.Denis(painting
on left wall of nave), St. Geneviève saving the fledgling city from Attila the Hun, and
scenes of Joan of Arc (left transept).
Foucault's pendulum usually swings gracefully at the end of a 220-foot cable sus-
pended from the towering dome; however it's currently in storage for safekeeping while
the dome undergoes renovation (through 2015). It was here in 1851 that the scientist Léon
Foucault first demonstrated the rotation of the earth. If the pendulum is back by the time
youvisit,standafewminutesandwatchitsarc(appearto)shiftasyouandtheearthrotate
beneath it.
Stairs in the back lead down to the crypt, where a pantheon of greats is buried.
Rousseau is along the right wall as you enter, Voltaire faces him across the hall. Also bur-
