Sainte Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle is a reliquary the size of a building, and the relic cost more than three times what the building did. Louis IX bought the Crown of Thorns from Baldwin II, the Latin emperor at Constantinople, for 135,000 livres, paid to Venetian bankers. The Grande Châsse made to hold it cost another 100,000. The entire chapel, built and glazed, cost 40,000. Construction began after 1238 and the chapel was consecrated on 26 April 1248. Open daily 09:00-19:00 April-September and 09:00-17:00 October-March; closed selected holidays. An accessible route serves principal lower or public areas, but stairs, historic fabric or summit routes limit the complete circuit. Adult admission is EUR 22; eligible under-26 EU/EEA visitors enter free. Metro Cité or Saint-Michel and RER B/C Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame. Worship, events, maintenance, weather and security can change ordinary access. Special tours, exhibitions and upgrades use separate tickets. Adult admission: eligible EEA visitors EUR 16; non-EEA visitors EUR 22.

Two chapels stacked on each other, and 670 m² of thirteenth-century glass. The lower chapel is dark, low and painted, and was for the palace staff. The upper chapel was for the king and the relics, and it is what people come for: fifteen windows of about 670 m² of stained glass, most of it installed between 1242 and 1248. The rose window at the west end is later — late fifteenth century — nine metres across, with 89 panels of Apocalyptic scenes. The Revolution destroyed the exterior sculpture and demolished the spire. Adult admission is EUR 22; eligible under-26 EU/EEA visitors enter free. Metro Cité or Saint-Michel and RER B/C Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame. Adult admission: eligible EEA visitors EUR 16; non-EEA visitors EUR 22.

Forty-five minutes inside, and most of it standing in the upper chapel. There is one room and it is small. What takes the time is that the glass rewards being read rather than glanced at — the windows run in narrative order and the panels are the size of a hand at forty metres. The lower chapel takes ten minutes and is where the queue is held. The Conciergerie is in the same building complex and is another hour. An accessible route serves principal lower or public areas, but stairs, historic fabric or summit routes limit the complete circuit.

Open daily 09:00-19:00 April-September and 09:00-17:00 October-March; closed selected holidays. Metro Cité or Saint-Michel and RER B/C Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame. An accessible route serves principal lower or public areas, but stairs, historic fabric or summit routes limit the complete circuit. Adult admission is EUR 22; eligible under-26 EU/EEA visitors enter free. Adult admission: eligible EEA visitors EUR 16; non-EEA visitors EUR 22.

Adult admission is EUR 22; eligible under-26 EU/EEA visitors enter free. The base amount and currency follow the operator tariff; premium products and separate institutions remain excluded unless named. Worship, events, maintenance, weather and security can change ordinary access. Adult admission: eligible EEA visitors EUR 16; non-EEA visitors EUR 22.

Metro Cité or Saint-Michel and RER B/C Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame. An accessible route serves principal lower or public areas, but stairs, historic fabric or summit routes limit the complete circuit. Open daily 09:00-19:00 April-September and 09:00-17:00 October-March; closed selected holidays. Adult admission is EUR 22; eligible under-26 EU/EEA visitors enter free. Adult admission: eligible EEA visitors EUR 16; non-EEA visitors EUR 22.

An accessible route serves principal lower or public areas, but stairs, historic fabric or summit routes limit the complete circuit. Open daily 09:00-19:00 April-September and 09:00-17:00 October-March; closed selected holidays. Adult admission is EUR 22; eligible under-26 EU/EEA visitors enter free. Historic surfaces, crowds and security remain relevant. Adult admission: eligible EEA visitors EUR 16; non-EEA visitors EUR 22.

The upper chapel defeats phone cameras: the windows are brilliant and the stone between them is dark, and any automatic exposure picks one and loses the other. Expose for the glass and let the stone go black — that is closer to what the eye sees anyway. The full sweep of fifteen windows needs a very wide lens from the west end, under the rose. The rose window itself, nine metres across with 89 panels, is best in late afternoon when the sun is on the west front. Adult admission is EUR 22; eligible under-26 EU/EEA visitors enter free. Adult admission: eligible EEA visitors EUR 16; non-EEA visitors EUR 22.