Sainte-Chapelle and Conciergerie Tickets
Highlights
- Step back in history at 2 of Paris' most iconic attractions: Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle.
- First, explore Conciergerie, a medieval royal palace turned revolutionary prison that held important figures like Marie-Antoinette in captivity.
- Later, marvel at the gothic architecture and the breathtaking stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible at Sainte-Chapelle.
- Fun fact: From the altar, Saint-Louis showed the relics to the Parisians every year on Good Friday.
Escape the contemporary bustle of Paris—its stores, bicycles, and boulangeries—and step into the past at two remarkable medieval landmarks inside the Palais de la Cité, a former royal residence. Sainte-Chapelle, renowned for its magnificent stained glass, was once the repository of the Crown of Thorns, whereas the Conciergerie functioned as the prison that held Marie-Antoinette!
Conciergerie
Your visit starts at this medieval royal palace. In the late 14th century, the French monarchs abandoned it, favoring the Louvre and Vincennes, and it was subsequently converted into a prison and a revolutionary tribunal. During the French Revolution, it ranked among the primary detention facilities, gaining the moniker "the antechamber to the guillotine."
This was particularly true for its most renowned prisoner, the former queen Marie Antoinette. As you wander through the Guards Room and the expansive Hall of the Soldiers, picture what she endured during her confinement here. A commemorative chapel now occupies the site of her former cell, constructed during later renovations.
Sainte-Chapelle
Once you have finished at the Conciergerie, make your way to Sainte-Chapelle, which stands proudly on the Île de la Cité. This modest chapel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was consecrated on April 26, 1248. King Louis IX ordered its construction to serve as a worthy resting place for his religious relics, among them Christ's Crown of Thorns.
This Gothic chapel is celebrated for its 15 breathtaking stained glass windows, which depict 1,113 scenes from the Old and New Testaments, along with a panel showing the relics' arrival in Paris, with the church's patron, King Louis, given a prominent place. On a bright day, the sunlight streaming through these windows erases the memory of every rainy day Paris has ever seen.