Church of Saint-Sulpice
The Église Saint-Sulpice is the second-largest church in Paris after Notre-Dame, and home to precious murals, historical organs, and a gnomon.
Church of Saint-Sulpice
The Église Saint-Sulpice is the second-largest church in Paris after Notre-Dame, and home to precious murals, historical organs, and a gnomon.
The Église Saint-Sulpice is a large Roman Catholic church in Paris’ Saint-Germain-de-Pres neighbourhood. The church is especially famous because of its Chapel of the Holy Angels, decorated with magnificent murals by Eugène Delacroix.
Saint-Sulpice was erected in 1646 on the site of an already-existing 13th-century church, and it is a key element of the neighbourhood’s landscape. If you want to explore Saint-Germain-de-Pres and its sites of interest, we recommend you book a general tour of the area here .
The outer appearance of the church is quite striking, with its unorthodox approach to Neoclassical style. The double colonnade in front of the loggias presents an ionic order over roman doric, the twin towers are mismatched, and the scale is simply colossal.
The inside is also unusual, with a mix of stern and bare stone, baroque chapels, beautiful Romantic murals, and an impressive historical organ.
Aside from these striking masterpieces, another precious artefact held here is the Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice. The gnomon is a device designed for astronomical measuring, specifically to determine the position of the sun in the sky based on the shadow it casts.
As you might also know, the church is famously mentioned in the international bestseller The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. After the book’s success, the number of tourists drawn to Saint-Sulpice was apparently so large that the church’s administration felt that they had to clarify that the building does not, in fact, stand on the vestige of a pagan temple.
Location
Rue Palatine 2, 6th arrondissement.
Entries
Entries to the Church of Saint-Sulpice are free, but if you want a guided tour, you have to contact the church beforehand and let them know .
Schedule
| Day |
|---|
| Every day |
| Day | Opening time | Closure |
|---|---|---|
| Every day | 8:00 am | 7:45 pm |
You might want to avoid masses, which are scheduled for the following times.
| Day |
|---|
| Mon-Fri |
| Sat |
| Sun |
| Day | Opening time |
|---|---|
| Mon-Fri | 9:00 am, 12:05 pm, 6:45 pm |
| Sat | 6:30 pm |
| Sun | 7:00 am, 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 6:30 pm |
Transport
Nearby sights
-
Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the neighbourhood where the church is located.
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Luxembourg Gardens - 300 m (less than 0.2 miles) south, 4-minute walk.
-
Église de Saint Germain des Prés - 500 m (0.3 miles) south, 6-minute walk.
-
Latin Quarter - 500 m (0.3 miles) east, 6-minute walk.
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Musée National Eugène Delacroix - 550 m (over 0.3 miles) north, 7-minute walk.
-
Palais des Expositions des Beaux-Arts - 1 km (0.6 miles) north, 12-minute walk
-
Sainte-Chapelle - 1.2 km (over 0.7 miles) north, 15-minute walk.
