The Paris Traveler

The Place Saint-Sulpice

by Lynn on May 4th, 2007

One of my favorite places in Paris is the Place Saint-Sulpice. This little square neatly tucked away is right smack in the middle of the Latin Quarter, just a few hundred yards from the Luxembourg Gardins in one direction and Saint-Germain-des-Près and the famous café, Les Deux Magots in the other. For some reason, many tourists seemed to entirely miss this beautiful square.

Believe me, I didn’t mind.  It was my quartier where I would sit on a bench under the trees around sunset, and watch the neighborhood children skate around the fountain, or observe other locals taking an evening stroll. It was the simple pleasure of listening to the laughter of children and the water cascading and falling into the lower basin. It was also a place to meet friends for a drink at the corner café. Saint-Sulpice wasn’t only beautiful, it was most often a peaceful little square.

Why am I talking in the past tense? Well let’s just say that after Dan Brown’s bestseller, “The Da Vinci Code,” there have been a lot more tourists making their way to this once quiet place. The Da Vinci Code tour of Paris take tourists to all the places mentioned in his thriller.  Therefore, if you’ve already read the book, (and who hasn’t?), you know that the church plays a big role in the story.

The Eglise Saint-Sulpice is the second largest church in Paris after Notre-Dame. It was built and restored several times between 1646 and 1745. The façade that you see today is attributed to the architect Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni and later restored by his apprentice Jean-Francois Chalgrin. Chalgrin also built the two mismatch north and south towers, which creates a distinct disharmony in the entire square. The fountain of the “Four Bishops” built in 1844 was designed by Joachim Visconti.

A must see is the church’s organ of 6700 pipes making it one of the largest pipe organs in the world.  Another is the Delacroix frescoes in the Chapelle des Anges (Chapel of the Angels) which is on the right as you enter the church. A must do, however, is to just sit on a bench under the trees, listen to the water falling, and take in the beauty of this square.

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POSTED IN: Fun & Quirky Places, Great Places To Unwind, Great Walks, History & Information, Must See, Outdoor Activites, Things To See & Do, Tours - Guided Or Self-Guided