Tiny Sainte-Chapelle

Tiny Sainte-Chapelle is probably the best place to see the most amazing concentration of stained glass windows anywhere. It lies across the street from Notre Dame and is sandwiched in next to France’s Supreme Court in the Palace of Justice. The church, a great example of Gothic architecture, was built for King Louis IX in the 13th century and essentially the only thing visible from the street is the roof, the tops of the windows, and a tall spire that was added in the 19th century. You go into a low-ceiling basement which also has beautiful windows. Then you climb up a narrow spiral staircase to the Chapelle Haute. Upstairs, the tiny church contains 15 separate panels of stained glass, all very high up, for a total of 6,500 square feet. It is breathtaking inside.

This is all you can see from the outside. The church is surrounded by the Hall of Justice.

The toilettes that serve Sainte-Chapelle are in the courtyard and down a flight of stairs because they also serve the Palais de Justice. There are no signs on the outer doors so a budding artist has hand-drawn figures on the wall by the doors to help visitors distinguish the men’s from the women’s bathrooms. Unfortunately the drawing that signifies the men’s restroom is not appropriate for a family blog.

2 thoughts on “Tiny Sainte-Chapelle”

Your camera captures the most amazing colors! and detail!! You must have a fantastic telephoto lens (looking at you, photo #4).
Loved the part about the restroom signs! LOL

JR says:

May 21, 2018 at 7:41 pm

Thanks. I got a new camera this year since my old one died. It’s a Panasonic Lumix, nothing special, but has reasonably good telephoto. But most importantly, it’s tiny, it fits in my purse or on a ribbon around my neck. So I always have it with me and it’s never in the way. That’s the best part.

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