The Sainte-Chapelle in Paris

Nestled on the Île de la Cité, in the heart of the 1st arrondissement of Paris, the Sainte-Chapelle – famous for its incomparable stained glass windows – is one of the most emblematic monuments in the French capital.

Follow the guide !

A short history of the Sainte-Chapelle

Who was Saint-Louis?

King of France from 1226 to 1270, Saint Louis (Louis IX during his lifetime) is, along with Louis XIV, one of the most emblematic monarchs in French history. Known for his unwavering faith and commitment to justice, he was canonized in 1297, thus becoming one of the most popular saints of the Catholic Church in France.

A great builder, Saint Louis ordered the construction of many religious buildings, including the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. He is also known to have participated in the seventh and eighth crusades.

The construction of the Sainte-Chapelle

In 1238, Saint Louis bought the Holy Crown from the Emperor of Constantinople Baldwin II of Courtenay, who was forced to part with the precious relics acquired by his predecessor Baldwin VI of Hainaut in order to finance the defense of his Empire.

In the years that followed, Saint Louis acquired several other very valuable relics of the Passion of Christ.

To house his acquisitions, Saint-Louis decided to have a royal chapel built in the Palais de la Cité, where he lived. This building was designed as a double chapel, with an upper and a lower chapel. It was not intended to welcome a large public, but was thought of as a place of worship reserved for the monarch and the staff of the castle. This is the reason why there is no external access to the upper chapel.

The chapel also housed a college of canons.

Built in flamboyant Gothic style, the Sainte-Chapelle was erected in less than seven years – a positive tour de force for the time – and consecrated in 1248.

The relics of the Sainte-Chapelle

The relics of the Holy Chapel included several artefacts related to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, including the Holy Crown, a piece of the Holy Cross, the Holy Blood, the Sepulchre Stone, as well as pieces of the Holy Lance and the Holy Sponge.

These relics are no longer on display in the Sainte-Chapelle today. Transferred to Saint-Denis during the French Revolution, many disappeared under mysterious circumstances without leaving any trace.

The Sainte-Chapelle since its construction

Over the centuries, the Sainte-Chapelle was restored several times, before being completely emptied, disused and partly destroyed during the French Revolution.

In the ^19th century, the debate raged: should this medieval vestige be preserved or destroyed? Fortunately, the supporters of the restoration of the Sainte-Chapelle came out on top in the negotiations. The work lasted 27 years and the Sainte-Chapelle became a true model of restoration.

Today, the Sainte-Chapelle is a very popular historical and tourist monument in Paris. It attracts thousands of visitors every year, who come to admire its architecture and discover its fascinating history.

Since 2008, new restoration campaigns are conducted by the architects of the Monuments Historiques.

Visiting the Sainte-Chapelle

The Sainte-Chapelle is a remarkable example of French Gothic architecture. It is considered one of the most emblematic medieval buildings in the world.

Organized on two floors (with two superimposed chapels: a lower chapel and an upper chapel), the Sainte-Chapelle follows a very simple plan, without aisles, transept or ambulatory.

If the Sainte-Chapelle has a very modest surface, comparable to that of a village church, its height is on the contrary worthy of a gothic cathedral. The first floor served as a sacristy (an annex of a church where religious items are kept), while the upper chapel housed the holy relics in a large shrine.

The richly decorated western façade is worth a look.

The lower chapel

Avec ses airs de crypte, la chapelle basse est plus sombre et de dimension plus modeste que la chapelle haute. Elle n’en demeure pas moins richement décorée avec ses murs colorés (les spécialistes parlent de polychromie architecturale), ses ogives, ses colonnes et ses vitraux. 

The lower chapel now houses the Sainte-Chapelle souvenir store.

The upper chapel

The upper chapel is undoubtedly the highlight of the show. Almost twice as high as it is wide, the upper chapel is decorated with flamboyant colors (another example of architectural polychromy) and wonderful stained glass windows dating from the ^13th century.

The tribune of the relics, which once housed the Holy Relics, is located in the middle of the apse.

The walls are almost entirely pierced with windows: a positive architectural tour de force, especially considering that the Sainte-Chapelle was built more than 7 centuries ago.

The stained glass windows represent a total surface of nearly 615 square meters/6,600 square feet! It represents a plethora of biblical scenes – including scenes from the Old Testament, the Apocalypse and the Creation – as well as historical scenes – including the story of Saint Louis receiving the relics.

Access

Opening hours

The Sainte-Chapelle is open from 9am to 5pm from October 1 to March 31 and from 9am to 7pm from April 1 to September 30 (the ticket office closes 40 minutes before the site closes).

Getting to the Sainte-Chapelle

The Sainte-Chapelle is located on the Île de la Cité, within the old Palais de la Cité (where the Conciergerie is also located).

It is easily accessible by public transport:

• Metro: Take line 4 and get off at the Cité station. The chapel is just a few steps away.
• Bus: Take lines 67, 69, 76 and 96 and get off at Cité – Palais de Justice.
• Hop-on hop-off bus tours. More info here.
• Vélib’: you will find several self-service bicycle stations on the Île de la Cité.

Admission

Tickets are 11.50 euros (full price). Access is free for visitors under 18 years of age, European Union citizens between 18 and 25 years of age and disabled visitors.

If you’re also planning on visiting the Conciergerie (which Captain Ulysses highly recommends), then the combined ticket Conciergerie + Sainte-Chapelle at the price of 18,50 € is much cheaper than buying the tickets separately (23 €).

Be warned, the Conciergerie and the Sainte-Chapelle are victims of their own success. To avoid wasting precious time in line, Captain Ulysses strongly recommends that you book your tickets online in advance:

👉 Entrance ticket for the Sainte-Chapelle
👉 Combined ticket Sainte-Chapelle + Conciergerie

💡 The Captain’s tip: access to the Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie are also included in the Museum Pass, which provides direct access to more than 60 museums and monuments in Paris, including the Louvre Museum, the Musée Orsay and the Centre Pompidou.
More information: Paris Museum Pass

👉 Skip the lines in Paris: book your tickets and tours in advance!

👉 Looking for advice and recommendations? Here are all of Captain Ulysses’ suggestions!

🛏️ Accommodation: Looking for an accommodation in Paris? Good news: there are plenty of options in the French capital. To book your hotel in Paris, Captain Ulysses highly recommends the website Booking.com. From cheap hostels to luxury palaces, you’ll have plenty of options to chose from. As for the localisation, it depends both on your budget and on what you’re looking for. If you can’t afford staying in the most expensive areas of the capital, the Captain recommends that you look for a hotel in the 12^th or 13^th arrondissements: they’re not as central, but are very well connected to the centre of Paris. The Buttes au Cailles, which looks just like a small village, is one of the Captain’s favourite neighbourhoods in Paris. If you’d rather stay in a chic and sophisticated hotel, here are the best 3 options according to the Captain: the St. James , the Dokhan’s and the Metropolitan .

🎟️ Activities : in order to book skip-the-line tickets, tours and activities in Paris, Captain Ulysses highly recommends GetYourGuide and Civitatis. Guided tours, entrance tickets, cruises, unusual activities: there’s plenty to chose from. If you want to avoid queuing to get into museums and monuments, the Captain suggests opting for skip-the-line tickets.

⛵ City cruises: Can you really visit Paris without going on a cruise on the Seine? The Captain loves sailing on the river and admiring the emblematic monuments of the French capital, especially at nightfall. You will find a large selection of cruises in Paris here.

🎫 City cards : If you’re planning on staying in Paris for a few days, you should definitely consider investing in a city card giving access to the capital’s top museums and landmarks. which includes access to the most famous monuments in Paris.

🚐 Transfers: the parisian airports are located outside the city and getting to the city centre can be quite expensive.
If your budget is tight, the Captain recommends the RATP shuttles that will drop you off at Opera if you’re coming from Roissy airport and at Denfert-Rochereau if you’re coming from Orly airport.
But for a few extra euros, you can book a transfer that will take you directly to your hotel.
If you are traveling in a group, this option is all the more interesting. Find out more here.

🚌 Transports: While you’ll be able to explore part of the city on foot, you will have to use the parisian public transports to explore some of the capital’s landmarks. In order to avoid accumulating (and losing) metro tickets, the Captain recommends opting for an unlimited transport pass. You can buy it directly at in any metro station.
Open tour buses (audioguides included) are also a good option.
If you’d rather explore Paris on a boat, you will love the batobus, a river shuttle on the Seine !

✈️ Flights, trains & buses : Good news: getting to Paris is quite easy! If you’re planning on flying to the capital, the Captain recommends Skyscanner, an online comparator which is perfect for finding the best deals. If your dates are flexible, you can even compare prices over several weeks. Paris is also easily accessible by train and bus. To book your tickets, the Captain highly recommends Omio, which integrates the offer of 207 train and bus companies in 44 countries.

Photo credits
Stephanie LeBlanc | Dag Heinrichowski | Simone Mascellari