9 Paris Churches That Deserve Your Attention

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Paris Travel
Published in
4 min readFeb 15, 2016

Whether or not you’ve been to Paris, most people have heard of the city’s famous churches like the Notre Dame or the Sacré Coeur.

Meanwhile, Paris’ lesser known churches remain largely unnoticed.

Here are 9 churches that are worthy of appreciation.

1. Paroisse Saint-Eustache

Construction on this church began in 1532 and took exactly 100 years to complete.

Looking at all the details of the building, it’s not hard to know why it took so long.

You can find Paroisse Saint-Eustache in the Les Halles district.

2. Saint-Jacques Tower

Located in a busy district known as Châtelet, this is all that’s left of a 16th-century gothic church that was destroyed during the French Revolution.

This tower shows how much detail there must have been in the former church built in 1509.

3. Sainte Chapelle

This church was built in 1239. Yes, you read that right. It’s more than 800 years old, making its beauty all the more impressive.

It’s one of the oldest surviving gothic architecture in the world. Sainte Chapelle is in Île de la Cité, in the heart of Paris.

4.Basilica of St Denis

This basilica in the suburb of Saint Denis is considered to be first structure in the world that was built in Gothic style.

Built in 1140, this was a burial place for kings and royals including Bishop Saint Denis himself, Louis XVI, and Marie-Antoinette.

5. Church of Saint-Sulpice

This is the second largest church in Paris, next to the Notre Dame. Saint Sulpice is in the city center’s Luxembourg Quarter.

Built in 1646, the interior is filled with impressive statues, intricate designs, and a grand organ.

6. Sainte-Trinité Church

Sainte-Trinité was created in 1861 and is known for its large bell tower.

You can find this Baroque church in the Saint Lazare neighborhood.

7. Saint Pierre de Montmartre

This is known as the oldest church in Paris and is thought to have been built as early as 1137. It has been significantly altered throughout the past few centuries, but you can still get a sense of how impressive the architecture was for its time.

Unsurprisingly, the importance of this Montmartre church has been eclipsed by the Sacré-Coeur next door.

8. Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Belleville Church

This Neo-Gothic church in Belleville was created in 1854 and has an impressive highly-detailed exterior.

9. St-Paul-St-Louis Church

Saint Paul Saint Louis was built near the Marais in 1641 and is one of the best examples of Jesuit architecture in Paris.

Interestingly, when religion was banned during the Revolution, this church actually served as a “Temple of Reason.”

There you have it, nine extra reasons to go to Paris (as if you needed any more).

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