Saint-Sulpice, Paris
The second largest church in Paris, with Delacroix murals and a gnomon
- Area Saint-Germain
- Type Church
- Time needed 45m
Saint-Sulpice is the second largest church in Paris after Notre-Dame, filling a whole side of its own square in the 6th. Building ran across the 17th and 18th centuries under a succession of architects, which is why the two west towers do not match. It is a working parish church and free to enter.
Open in the planner →Getting there
Metro 4 to Saint-Sulpice leaves you two minutes from the north side of the church; from Châtelet that is a single line and about eight minutes. Metro 10 to Mabillon or line 4 to Saint-Germain-des-Prés are both a five-minute walk. Buses 58, 84, 86 and 89 pass nearby. The main entrance is on the west front, facing the fountain in the square.
What you see
Immediately right of the door is the Chapelle des Saints-Anges, with three works by Eugène Delacroix finished in 1861: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel and Héliodorus Driven from the Temple on the side walls, Saint Michael defeating the devil on the ceiling. They are the reason most visitors come, and they repay standing still for a while. Further in, the brass line set into the floor of the transept runs to a marble obelisk: this is the gnomon, an 18th-century astronomical instrument for fixing the date of Easter, and it is not the occult device a well-known novel made of it. The organ case in the west gallery is one of the largest in France and the instrument behind it is famous among organists. Walk the ambulatory for the side chapels, the Lady Chapel behind the high altar with its lit statue of the Virgin, and the two enormous shells used as holy water stoups near the entrance.
What to pair it with
Saint-Germain-des-Prés is a five-minute walk north, and the Jardin du Luxembourg is five minutes south. The Musée d'Orsay is about fifteen minutes north-west on foot.
When to go
Late morning on a weekday has the steadiest light in the Delacroix chapel, which is dim and benefits from brightness outside. Avoid Sunday mornings and other service times if you want to walk the whole building. Organ recitals happen after the main Sunday service and at advertised times; if you hear the instrument you will remember it more than anything you looked at.
What is hard about it
The interior is cold, grey and very large, and many people find it austere after Notre-Dame or the Sainte-Chapelle. The Delacroix chapel is badly lit and the murals have darkened with age, so photographs of them rarely come out. Restoration work moves around the building from year to year, and at any given time a chapel, a tower or part of the nave may be behind scaffolding or netting with no notice. Services close sections off, and the square outside is a busy thoroughfare rather than a quiet forecourt.
Common questions
How long do you need at Saint-Sulpice?
Forty-five minutes is enough to see the Delacroix chapel, the gnomon and the ambulatory properly. Twenty minutes does the murals alone.
Is it free to enter?
Yes. It is a parish church and entry is free, though there are boxes for donations and for candles.
Can you hear the organ?
Yes, at services and at advertised recitals. Check the parish notices before you go rather than hoping.
Nearby
More of the same kind
- Notre-Dame de ParisThe Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, reopened after the 2019 fire
- Sainte-ChapelleFifteen windows of thirteenth-century glass in a single upper room
- Sacré-Cœur, ParisThe white basilica on the butte, and the best free view in the city
- PanthéonNeoclassical mausoleum of the Republic's great, with Foucault's pendulum