Paris Tour: Paris in a Day, part 2 – Cathedrals

Notre-Dame de Paris. Image: Wikipedia

Paris in a Day – Cathedrals: Day Two

You can’t do all of Paris in a day, but you can see a few cathedrals.

Notre-Dame de Paris

This is the most famous cathedral in Paris, reopened in 2024 following a 2019 fire. It is an 800-year-old medieval Catholic cathedral. Known for its rib vault, flying buttresses, and rose stained-glass windows, it is not to be missed.

The cathedral suffered considerable desecration and looting during the French Revolution of 1790 as the French abolished the Ancien Régime and rejected the Catholic Church. A dechristianization campaign was launched, and the cathedral was forbidden to hold public worship, becoming the site of the Festival of Reason and being renamed the Temple of Reason.

The Coronation of Napoleon, by Jacques-Louis David (1805 1807). Image: Wikipedia

It was the site of the coronation of Napoleon I as Emperor of the French in 1804, and it was largely restored in the mid-19th century.

Religious Relics

For Roman Catholics, the cathedral is the site of some of the most important Christian relics in the world. The two most famous are the reputed Crown of Thorns that Christ wore when he was crucified, as well as a sliver and nail from the True Cross. Other relics include bones from St Denis and St Genevieve, patron saints of Paris.

Sainte-Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle. Image: Wikipedia

Yes, it really is that stunning. Just a few blocks from Notre Dame on the Île de la Cité (City Island) on the River Seine, this stained-glass “Holy Chapel” is often missed by tourists but well worth a visit. It was commissioned by King Louis IX to hold his relics, including Christ’s Crown of Thorns. Louis was the only French king to be canonized: as Saint Louis.

It has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained-glass collections anywhere in the world.

By the way, you’ll be close to The Conciergerie, which, while you won’t have time to visit, is famous for holding almost 3,000 prisoners of the French Revolution during the Reign of Terror, including Marie-Antoinette, her husband King Louis XVI (the only French king to be executed), and Maximilien Robespierre. They were sent to execution by guillotine at Place de la Révolution, which is now known as Place de la Concorde.

The Consiergerie. Image: Wikipedia

It was a court and prison. Now you know why a hotel concierge has a pair of keys on their lapel.

Sacré-Cœur

Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the summit of Montmartre (Mount of Mars or Mount of Martyrs). From its dome two hundred meters above the Seine, the basilica overlooks the entire city of Paris and its suburbs. It is the second most popular tourist destination in the capital after the Eiffel Tower.

Montmartre (featured in the Gene Kelly film American in Paris) has been an artist community since the Belle Époque, the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, and Van Gogh lived there.

Sacré-Coeur. Image: Wikipedia

The church is considered the site associated with the martyrdom of St Denis. The patron saint of Paris was beheaded, but he picked up his head and walked to Montmartre. You can see his headless statue on the left portal in front of Notre Dame.

St Denis of Paris. Image: Wikipedia

It affords one of the most comprehensive views of the City with many nearby shops and restaurants. The inside of the church reveals bomb holes from World War II.

Part 1 discussed Paris Museums.

To be concluded with the Paris Monuments in part 3.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com