Saint-Sulpice church is one of the best known churches on the Left Bank (second only to Saint-Germain-des-Prés), and quite rightly so. Its beauty, inside and out, along with the important works of art it holds and of course its central location (between the Luxembourg Gardens and Boulevard Saint-Germain), make it especially popular with tourists. And we haven’t even talked about the PR boost the church got from the movie “The Da Vinci Code”…
Despite all that, not everyone has loved Saint-Sulpice and its towers reaching up to the sky. The writer Henry Miller (1899-1980), author of “Tropic of Cancer,” said the church’s towers reminded him of two fat fries. If that’s not enough for you, here is the short poem by Raoul Ponchon (1848-1937), a friend of the poet Arthur Rimbaud, who wrote:
Je hais les tours de Saint-Sulpice
Quand par hasard je les rencontre
Je pisse
Contre
But whether you love Saint-Sulpice or hate it, there’s one thing you can’t take away from it: its fascinating history. It includes not just remarkable art but also a young seminarian who ran off to his mistress, prostitutes, and even two important philosophers who met for the last time not far from here. In short, this is a kind of distillation of everything beautiful and fascinating about the history of Paris, which is exactly why I so enjoyed writing about this church.
Today we’ll take a historical journey through Saint-Sulpice and its surroundings, and uncover all the secrets it hides. Of course, we won’t forget the practical matters, such as the church’s opening hours, whether it’s worth staying nearby, where to eat, and what else you can do after your visit.
The Story of Saint-Sulpice Church
Like quite a few churches in Paris, such as the Madeleine, the church we see today stands on the ruins of an older one. That earlier church was built in 1211, but by the 17th century it had already become too small to hold the growing congregation living in the neighborhood.
As a result, Abbé Olier (1608-1657), who ran the church, decided to tear down the existing building and put up a new, grand one in its place. To do this, he even managed to enlist Queen Mother Anne of Austria (1601-1666), who laid the cornerstone of the new church in 1646. The start was quite promising, but trouble began within a few years.
Nine years after construction began, it became clear that the design was flawed and that the new church would not be able to hold the growing number of worshippers. As a result, the famous architect Louis Le Vau (1612-1670) was called in and asked to build a church much larger than the original plan. But his death in 1670 and a lack of funds caused the construction to fall further and further behind.
All of this meant that it took more than 100 years from the laying of the cornerstone, and no fewer than six architects working on this never-ending project, before Saint-Sulpice was finally completed in 1780. The architect who got to “cut the ribbon” was Jean Chalgrin (1739-1811), known to us for designing the Arc de Triomphe on Place de l’Étoile. Even so, the credit for the design of the building as we see it today really belongs to the Italian architect Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni (1695-1766).
Servandoni, who has one of the lovely streets next to the church named after him, lived for a long time in London and specialized in designing theaters and stage sets. It’s possible that this experience is what inspired him when designing the western facade of Saint-Sulpice, which recalls St Paul’s Cathedral in London. So, ladies and gentlemen, here’s yet another example of how a city I so dislike has managed to inspire some of the treasures I love (other examples being the wide boulevards, the underground sewers, and of course the lovely parks of Paris).
In any case, as you saw in the opening of this article, not everyone loved the final result. Personally, I really love the baroque facade, with its slightly unconventional two rows of columns. On the other hand, those of us who suffer from OCD probably won’t love the fact that the two bell towers aren’t the same size, and that the south tower was in fact never completed. On the third hand, those who believe size really does matter will be glad to know that the north bell tower, whose restoration finished in 2011, is the tallest bell tower in Paris, four meters taller than the one at Notre-Dame Cathedral.
In short, there’s no accounting for taste, and I’d love to hear your opinion of the church in the comments.
The Saint-Sulpice Fountain
Before we go inside the church itself, I can’t skip a few words about the magnificent fountain standing in front of it.
The fountain was commissioned by the prefect of Paris (at the time, Paris had no elected mayor), Count Rambuteau (Claude-Philibert Barthelot, Comte de Rambuteau, 1781-1869), who has an important street crossing the 1st through 4th arrondissements of the capital named after him. Why was the fountain built? For a fairly mundane reason: the need to provide clean drinking water to the city’s residents.
The design of the fountain was entrusted to the famous architect Louis Visconti (1791-1853), known to us for designing Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides, and construction began in 1843. The work was completed five years later, and despite its beauty, the fountain drew quite a few negative reactions.
Some critics objected to the fountain’s location right in front of the church’s facade, which partly hides the church from the street. Others disliked the urns the water flows from (some saw them as resembling cooking pots), while still others disliked the expression on the lions’ faces (some claimed the lions looked angry because the water pours right over their backsides).
But despite all these flaws, it’s an impressive fountain that’s a paradise for photographers. What naturally draws the most attention are the statues of four bishops standing on each side of the fountain. If you’re curious about the history of the French church, here are the names of each of the bishops appearing on the fountain:
- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704): stands on the north side of the fountain. Known as one of the greatest orators in French history for his funeral orations in memory of Henriette Anne (the first wife of the Duke of Orléans) and the Prince de Condé.
- François Fénelon (1651-1715): stands on the east side of the fountain. A relatively liberal churchman who became the chief tutor of Louis, Duke of Burgundy (1682-1712), the heir to the throne, grandson of Louis XIV and father of Louis XV, who died before his grandfather and so never reigned.
- Esprit Fléchier (1632-1710): stands on the west side of the fountain. Like Bossuet, he too was known for his eulogies, and like Fénelon, he too tutored an heir to the throne (this time the Grand Dauphin Louis, son of Louis XIV, who also died before his father).
- Jean-Baptiste Massillon (1663-1742): stands on the south side of the fountain. Like the three other clergymen featured on the fountain, he too was known for his speeches and eulogies, and he even served as chief chaplain at the Palace of Versailles.
This fountain has two names: the simple one is “the Saint-Sulpice fountain,” while the other is La Fontaine des quatre points cardinaux, and there’s a little wordplay hiding in that.
The name can be read as “the Fountain of the Four Cardinal Points,” since each statue faces a different direction. On the other hand, the word “point” can also mean “never,” and “cardinaux” is also the plural of “cardinal” (the church rank). So the fountain’s name can also be read as “the fountain of those who never became cardinals,” since each of the clergymen whose statues decorate the fountain reached the rank of bishop but never managed to earn the cardinal’s hat.
Between Delacroix and The Da Vinci Code
Now that we’re done admiring the facade and the fountain, or hating them, depending on which camp you’re in, it’s time to go inside the church itself. There’s a huge amount of artwork here and I won’t dwell on all of it. But I can’t let it go without a mention, so let me recommend a few pieces you really shouldn’t miss.
Once you’re inside the church, go to the first chapel on the right. There you’ll find two paintings by the great painter Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863).
The first painting, “Heliodorus Driven from the Temple,” is Delacroix’s version of Raphael’s famous fresco on the same subject.
The painting is based on a story from the Book of Maccabees, in which Antiochus sent his general Heliodorus to plunder the Temple, while God sent a horseman and two angels to drive the general off and save the Temple’s treasures.
The second painting, and the more famous one, is “Jacob Wrestling with the Angel.” This painting is based on the well-known story from the Book of Genesis, in which Jacob encounters an angel on his journey back to the land of Canaan, and since the angel refused to let him pass, he wrestled with him all night.
At the end of the struggle, the angel declares that from then on Jacob will be called “Israel,” while Jacob names the place where he wrestled the angel “Peniel” (the face of God).
These two paintings are among the last works of the brilliant painter, who is best known to most of us for “Liberty Leading the People.” To work on them, Delacroix moved from the 9th arrondissement to a large studio on Place Furstenberg, about a five-minute walk from Saint-Sulpice church.
After you’ve finished looking at the two paintings and at the ceiling painting “Saint Michael Defeating the Dragon” (also the work of Delacroix), step out of the chapel, walk a little further ahead, then turn around and look back.
The organ you’ll see was originally designed by Chalgrin and restored in 1862 by the famous organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811-1899). It has around 6,500 metal pipes and is considered the largest organ in Europe. It’s quite impressive visually, and if you’re lucky enough to visit while the organist is practicing, you’ll be treated to a musical experience.
Here’s what it sounds like:
After enjoying the organ’s beauty, feel free to keep wandering through the church and take a look at the many statues and paintings you’ll find there. Once you’ve done that, let me suggest you look down at the floor too.
You’ll find a metal strip there whose purpose is to mark the spring equinox, so people could know when to celebrate Easter. To make this work, a hole was drilled in the church’s south window, and on the designated day, at noon, a beam of light passes through the metal strip and ultimately reaches an obelisk standing in the north part of the church.
All fans of “The Da Vinci Code” surely remember that the book’s author, Dan Brown, mentioned this device in his novel and added all sorts of things that never existed (for example: a pagan temple supposedly standing on this spot before the church, or the claim that the letters P and S on the stained glass stand for “Priory of Sion,” and so on). In short, nonsense, but told so well and so convincingly that you won’t be able to put the book down.
Before we continue the story, it’s worth pausing to mention that over the years, millions of people have been baptized, married, and buried at Saint-Sulpice church, including a number of very famous names. Here’s a partial list:
- Charles Baudelaire, one of the greatest poets in France, was baptized here in 1821.
- Victor Hugo married his beloved Adèle Foucher (1803-1868) here in 1822.
- The composer Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937), one of the greatest organists of all time, played here between 1870 and 1937.
- The funeral mass for Jacques Chirac, former president of France, was held here on September 30, 2019.
The Churchmen Were Not as Innocent as You Might Think
Another man connected to the church is Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord (Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, 1754-1838), France’s legendary foreign minister, who managed to keep his head under six different regimes (!).
Talleyrand was born into a very important noble family and was baptized at Saint-Sulpice church. Because he had a disability, it was decided that he would not become head of the family (even though he was the eldest son), and instead he was sent to the seminary for priests next to the church.
The 16 year old Talleyrand didn’t particularly like his studies there, and instead of reading holy books, this young seminarian would climb over the seminary wall and head to number 6 Rue Férou, where he met Mademoiselle Luzy, a 25 year old actress who became his first mistress.
By the way, that exact same house was later home to the famous writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), along with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer (1895-1951).
One evening, the writer came home completely drunk, and feeling the need to relieve his bladder, headed to the bathroom. When he finished and pulled hard on the chain handle, being drunk, he actually grabbed the handle of the glass skylight above and pulled it down on himself. Needless to say, Hemingway was cut by the glass, but by the next day he was already walking around proudly, showing off his new scar to anyone interested in seeing it.
Let’s get back to the seminary next to Saint-Sulpice church. If you thought Talleyrand was the only mischievous young seminarian there, you’d be very wrong. The fact that seminarians (and their teachers) also have human needs did not escape the notice of Madame Betty, and during the 19th century she decided to open a brothel at number 36 Rue Saint-Sulpice whose clientele came exclusively from the seminary.
The building today looks quite innocent, and anyone walking down the street wouldn’t suspect for a moment that until 1946, this was home to a brothel that specialized in sadomasochism. The priests who came here were treated to a variety of erotic torments, from whippings to crucifixion, while Madame Betty became a very wealthy woman.
By the way, this wasn’t the only brothel in the area. Not far away, at number 15 on the same street, there was another brothel, which today, of course, serves as an ordinary residential building. If you manage to get inside, a surprise awaits you: the name of Madame Alys is set into the entrance floor in mosaic tiles! Unfortunately, the floor was under renovation the last time I was in the area, and I didn’t get a chance to photograph it for you. And so, one more reason to come back to Paris…
Saint-Sulpice: Visitor Information
I really hope this article has made you want to visit the church and its surroundings. So if you’re planning your trip to Paris right now, let me give you some useful information to help with your planning.
Getting There
Saint-Sulpice church is located at 2 Rue Palatine. The easiest way to get there is by metro. All you need to do is take line 4 and get off at Saint-Sulpice station, then walk a few steps to reach the church. Other nearby stations are Mabillon (line 10) and Saint-Germain-des-Prés (line 4).
If you decide to get there by bus, you can take lines 63, 68, 70, 84, 86, 95 or 96 and get off at the stop right by the church.
Opening Hours
The church is open every day from 08:00 to 19:30, and admission is of course free.
Classical Music Concerts at Saint-Sulpice
The wonderful organ at Saint-Sulpice church and its excellent acoustics make this church a perfect venue for religious music concerts, and for “just” classical music too. You can find information about the concerts held here and buy tickets in the article Classical music in Paris.
Where Else Can You Explore?
Finished your visit to the church and looking for more interesting places? Here are a few spots not far at all from the church:
If that’s still not enough for you, go ahead and check out the article attractions in the 6th arrondissement, where you’ll find more attractions, walking routes, and more.
What If Hunger Strikes Before (or After) Your Visit?
Don’t worry, you won’t starve, since there are a few pretty good options close by.
Café de la Mairie
This historic café, which looks out onto the Saint-Sulpice fountain, is named after the town hall building of the 6th arrondissement right next to it. The place became popular in the 1920s, mainly among American writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner (“The Sound and the Fury”), F. Scott Fitzgerald (“The Great Gatsby”), and the playwright Samuel Beckett (“Rhinoceros” and “Waiting for Godot”).
Later, the place also became popular among French writers and philosophers, including Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, who met here for the last time in their lives in 1951, just before they stopped speaking to each other.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t a gourmet restaurant, and the menu is classic French (some would say unremarkable), with all the culinary clichés you’d expect (onion soup and so on). But if you’re looking for a nice view and a historic atmosphere, it’s definitely a good choice.
Address: 8, Place Saint-Sulpice
Pierre Hermé
Not far from the church, on Rue Bonaparte, is the legendary branch of Pierre Hermé, the king of macarons and inventor of the ispahan croissant.
If you’re not too hungry and just looking for something sweet, this is an excellent option (though not the cheapest).
Address: 72 Rue Bonaparte, Paris
Chez Georges
If you’re not that hungry but are looking for a good glass of wine in a special atmosphere, let me recommend the wine cellar Chez Georges, located at 11 Rue des Canettes. It’s one of the happiest places I know, and if you’d like to read more about it, go ahead and check out this article.
Still Hungry?
No problem at all, all you need to do is check out the article recommended restaurants in the 6th arrondissement of Paris (Saint-Germain), where you’ll find excellent restaurants across a range of prices.
Where to Stay Near Saint-Sulpice
Saint-Sulpice has a simply wonderful location: very close to the Luxembourg Gardens and the lively Boulevard Saint-Germain. From here you can reach a huge number of Paris attractions on foot, while enjoying a beautiful, pleasant, and safe neighborhood. Here are a few recommended hotels nearby (sorted by price, with the cheaper hotels at the top):
- Hotel Michelet Odeon
- Hôtel Atlantis
- Hôtel De Fleurie
- Au Manoir Saint Germain Hotel
- Hotel Odeon Saint-Germain
- Victoire & Germain
If all these hotels are booked, I recommend checking out the article recommended hotels in the 6th arrondissement. If you’re looking for a vacation apartment instead, let me recommend the article recommended vacation apartments in the 6th arrondissement.
