Savvy Sightseer - tips and insights for seasoned travelers!
Statues of Apostles add a decorative touch to the spire.
A small side chapel in the Cathedral at Rouen is dedicated to Jeanne d'Arc.
Not just a mere timekeeper, this clock identified the day of the week, month of the year, sunrise and sunset times, moon phase and current sign of the zodiac!
France's Churches
While the French Revolution was aimed at overthrowing the monarchy and divine rule, it was also a protest against corrupt and influential religious leaders. The end result was a huge drop in Catholicism in the country. But France’s mighty cathedrals and arching churches still abound – about 45,000 of the immense and architecturally places of worship remain, largely under state control and supported as part of France’s cultural heritage.
Notre Dame de Paris - The Grand Dame of French Churches
Queen among France's churches is the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, popularly called simply Notre Dame Cathedral, which was built over the course of 200 years as a labor of love to give the city a cathedral “worthy of it.” Completed in 1345, the cathedral quickly became a focal point of religious events. King Henry VI of England (1431) and even Napoleon I (1804) were crowned here, and in 1909 Joan of Arc was beatified by Pope Pius X. In 1944, Paris’s liberation was celebrated in the cathedral, and the requiem mass for General Charles de Gaulle was held in 1970.
Notre Dame is an architectural wonderland. Its three rose windows are its signature feature. The north and south windows are about 42 feet in diameter; the west one over the main entrance spans almost 33 feet. The massive South tower bell dubbed “Emmanuel” weighs upwards of 28,000 pounds. The cathedral is more than the size of a football field – 425 feet across, 157 feet wide and 114 feet tall – making it one of the largest religious buildings in the world. It’s also one of the most visited: 13 million flock to see it each year. Exquisite artistry is evident everywhere in the multitude of carefully sculpted statues both inside and out, much of which is the restoration work of 19th century medieval archaeologist Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. When King Louis XVI was guillotined in 1793, the Commune of Paris decreed all statues of kings on the cathedral were to be destroyed. Seen as symbols of the French monarchy, the sculptures were removed from their prominent position over the church’s entry, and heads were violently severed. However, the original intent of the Gallery of Kings was to depict a row of 28 statues representing generations of kings of Judah, not kings of France. Some critics have found flaws in the architect’s repair work and some of his embellishments, including the uncanny resemblance of several statues’ faces to Viollet-le-Duc himself.
The Grand Dame of French Churches
Decorative Drains
The west entrance rose window still retains much of its original glass. The Kings' heads below it have all been restored.
Meticulously detailed sculpture work with scenes from the Last Judgement
The South Chancel Screen took three artists over 50 years to produce. The sculpted row of nine panels details Christ's apparitions after the Resurrection.
One of the famed rose windows of Notre Dame
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Sacre Coeur
Saint Catherine's, Honfleur
Many notable churches and cathedrals outside of Paris have their own unique personality. In Honfleur, Sainte Catherine’s reflects the little town’s sea-faring roots. Mainly shipbuilders, villagers replaced a former stone structure destroyed in the Hundred Years' War with one built of wood that resembles twin overturned ship hulls. It is France's largest timber-built church, and one of its oldest, built in the 1400s.
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Towering above the city is a reminder of Paris’s darker times. Sacre Coeur Basilica stands atop Paris’s highest natural point as a stunning white gift of penance. In 1870, Paris fell under siege of the Prussian/German army for several months; residents were reduced to eating almost anything that moved to survive. Rather than consider it a military defeat, Parisians blamed their own spiritual failings for their suffering and decided to build a magnificent church dedicated to the Sacred Heart in atonement. Gypsum, which whitens with age, was selected as the external building material, and the 420-foot hill at Montmartre, The “Mount Of Martyrs,” was chosen as its location.
Too heavy to sit atop the church
Hull-shaped ceiling
Double altars, like two ships together
A soaring monument replaces the stake where young Joan burned; the sweeping roof line of the Joan of Arc church (Elise Jeanne d'Arc) is reminiscent of the flames that engulfed her.
The martyr looks over at the memorial raised in her name.
Interior View Up in the Lantern Tower
Claude Monet enjoyed painting the elaborate Gothic church.
A fancy route from church to library
A rare opportunity to get up close and personal with stone saints
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In Rouen, a towering 65-foot iron cross marks the spot where Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc) was burned at the stake in 1431 for heresy. The Cross of Rehabilitation, named for the process of restoring her good name, stands in the Place du Vieux Marché next to the modern-day, artfully designed Church of St. Jeanne d’Arc. The church’s swirling roofline is reminiscent of the flames that engulfed 19-year-old Jeanne, who had striven to liberate France from English rule. Facing the imposing cross is a statue of Jeanne as she was in the moments before most of her body was reduced to ash – that is, legend has it her heart wouldn’t burn and actually survived the fire, proof of her divinity.
The little church in her name is not the main house of worship in town. That honor goes to Cathédrale Notre Dame de Rouen, the town’s dual-personality cathedral. Built and restored in different eras, its two main towers are pointedly different in appearance and history. On the north side is the St. Romain tower; the cathedral’s oldest, it’s base dates back to the 12th century. The squared-off south tower is nicknamed the Butter Tower. Funding for it allegedly came from wealthy parishioners who couldn’t get through the 40 days of Lent without butter, which was banned during the season – unless you were willing to “donate” in exchange for the privilege of continuing to eat butter during Lent. The central Lantern Tower gave the cathedral bragging rights as the tallest building in the world until 1880; today it is still the tallest cathedral in France with a spire that tops out at almost 500 feet.
On the building’s north side is an ornate 16th century staircase known as the Escalier de la Librairie (Booksellers’ Stairway). The cathedral clergy had a library on the second floor of the building next door; the graceful staircase provided easy access to it from the cathedral itself.
Cathédral Notre Dame de Rouen
The most complete and best preserved medieval Church in the western world
This window portrays the scene of the final judgment, with Christ in the center displaying his wounds. Underneath are the Tree of Jesse, Infancy of Christ, and Passion of Christ lancet windows.
The 20-foot sculpture at the High Altar was created in 1772 and weighs 30 tons.
A holy relic of Mary's veil believed to have been worn by her during Christ's birth
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Cathédral Notre Dame de Chartres
While most of the churches in France share a common name – Our Lady of ... (or Notre Dame de …) – none hold as a high a claim to her association as the one in Chartres. It is here where a sacred garment of the Virgin Mary is proudly displayed. The silk relic given to the cathedral in 876 was a gift from Byzantine Empress Irene of Constantinople to Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor. It is believed to have been worn by Mary when she gave birth to Jesus. It’s said to have miraculous merit, and its survival of a devastating fire that burned the church to the ground early in the 12th century prompted the faithful to rebuild – bigger and better – a cathedral on the same place to house it. Today, Cathédrale Notre Dame de Chartres is considered to be the most complete and best preserved medieval Church in the western world.
Its other main claim to fame is a stunning collection of stained glass windows that depict over 5,000 figures. The cathedral retains 152 of its original 186 windows, making it the most valuable collection of medieval stained glass in France. A peculiar shade of cobalt blue, the recipe for which experts claim can’t be replicated, came to be known as Chartres Blue.
The only aspect detracting from Chartres Cathedral's elegant symmetry is on its western front. The mismatched spires differ in size and style: the south spire is a 12th century, 349-foot Romanesque pyramid; the north one is a 16th-century, 377-foot Gothic spire.
Mont Saint-Michel
The French cathedral whose silhouette alone is one the most recognizable in the world is Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, on the border with Brittany. After Michael the Archangel reportedly visited Aubert, the Bishop of Avranches, in the 8th century, the cleric did as he was told and built an abbey on the very top of a rocky island in the bay. After doing a brief stint as a prison during the French Revolution, the abbey is again a working monastery, home to friars and sisters of the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem who still welcome visiting pilgrims. But it is the unique vision the Mont presents, its "exceptional combination of natural and cultural elements," that brings in millions of tourists each year and earned it a place on UNESCO’s World Heritage Sights in 1979. Some visitors are willing to make the arduous trip to the top, 264 feet up, while others are content rambling along the ramparts or stopping in at the countless souvenir shops lining the island’s main street.
Mont Saint-Michel’s most unique feature is how it can quickly become disconnected from the mainland and revert to island status. Author Victor Hugo described the tide rushing "as swiftly as a galloping horse." The water level can rise 45 feet, gushing in at 200 feet per second. Early pilgrims were caught unawares and many lost their lives. In 2015, a bridge opened to safely transport guests from the mainland parking lot to the Mont, eliminating sightseers from being able to park on the mudflats surrounding the island – many of whom didn’t pay attention to tidal times and would return to find their cars immersed.
The tide can gallop in at an alarming rate.
At 264 feet up, it's not an easy climb to the top.
The Bay of Mont Saint-Michel at low tide (L); the abbey at the peak of Mont St-Michel (R)
Continue your trip through France with a visit to Paris, Normandy and Brittany, the Loire Valley or back to the France home page.
