Visiting the Church of Saint-Sulpice is everything but an affliction. This wonderful church tells us the history of Paris its way. Impressive, it overhangs the Place Saint-Sulpice and could even throw shade to Notre-Dame.
The current church, built on the remains of a church from the 11th century, hasn’t been built in one day. It required over two centuries of work, between the first stone set in 1646 by Anne of Austria and the end of its construction in 1870. How come? The events during the Fronde, a cruel lack of financial means and disagreements between the architects. Obvious signs of these long years of work, the building’s various architectural styles, borrowed to the Jesuit art and the classic art.
Its original façade with arches, designed by Florentine Servandoni, and the two towers of 70-m high, higher than Notre-Dame’s are fascinating. Speaking of these towers, you can see the right tower remained unfinished because of the French Revolution. It’s in this very same church that Victor Hugo and Adèle Foucher get married in 1822.
During your tour of the Church of Saint-Sulpice, don’t miss: the Chapel of the Virgin, a small rococo marvel, the statue of Mary and the support of two holy water fonts sculpted by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, the two statues of Bouchardon, the three paintings by Eugène Delacroix in the Saint Angel’s Chapel, the impressive marble pulpit, the beautiful fountain of Louis Visconti outside the building and the gnomon, this brass thread representing the meridian line, referred to in Dan Brown’s critically acclaimed novel, Da Vinci Code.
Location
Eglise Saint-Sulpice
2 Rue Palatine
75006 Paris 6
Prices
Free
Official website
www.paris.catholique.fr
