1. It was built to house the Crown of Thorns of Christ (and 22 other relics):

To gain its name of Sainte, this chapel had to be built to house relics. This is the case of this surprising chapel, commissioned by King Louis IX of France to keep Christ’s Crown of Thorns and also his collection of 21 other relics he had collected. The political reasoning of Saint Louis, who was a very pious king, was to make France the new Christian capital, competing with cities like Rome.

Check this out: Today no relics remain in the place. The Crown of Thorns (or what remains of it) and the Shirt of Saint Louis are now part of the Treasure of Our Lady of Paris (Notre-Dame de Paris). After the fire at Notre-Dame, the relics were moved to the Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois church, behind the Louvre Museum. They can be visited only the first Fridays of each month and every Friday during Lent at 3:00 p.m.

2. It has two chapels, upper and lower:

The lower chapel is the one that welcomes in visitors (along with the boutiques and gift shops) and seems to be almost like a vault at 23 ft (7 meters) high, held by multiple columns. To the left of the entrance you can find the stairs that will lead you to the upper chapel, where you can witness the play of light, colors, and architecture of this beautiful building.

Check this out: The columns in the upper chapel represent the twelve apostles, pillars of the church of Christ.

3. It counts with 1,113 stained glass windows that narrate episodes of the Bible:

Starting with Genesis to the Apocalypse. Even King Louis IX is represented in one of them. Suggestion: when you arrive, look for the informational cards that are available in several languages for visitors. This will help you better understand the stories behind the stained glass windows. Try to look at them from a distance to better appreciate them.

Check this out: the rosette in the back represents the Apocalypse and was renovated in 1490. During that time renovation meant “keeping up with trends”, therefore certain parts of the building weren’t actually being restored. They were updated to resemble the architectural trend of that time, which was Gothic Flamboyant (this meant flame shapes or fire), and not the original Gothic Rayonnant (referring to strong lines coming out of the center, creating rays of light) which you will likely see at Notre-Dame.

4. The best time to visit is the morning:

Try to get there early since this building, due to its diminutive size, fills up very quickly. Hopefully you get to see the sunlight through the stained glass windows brightening up the space. Imagine it is 1248 and the floor is white, which further reflected the colors of the windows creating an even more…heavenly atmosphere. The visit will take you 45 minutes to an hour. Because the monument is inside the Palace of Justice you will have to go through the corresponding security checks. A lot of people don´t get to see this monument because they get discouraged by the queues outside, remember that it is a small place, but if you get there early you will have no trouble, and it is very much worth the effort.

5. You can buy a bundled ticket to visit the Conciergerie as well:

A few feet away from the entrance to the Sainte Chapelle you will find the Conciergerie which preserves some of the ancient vestiges of the Palace de la Cité and medieval housing for the kings of France. During the French Revolution it served as prison (that is where Marie Antoinnete was held before being sent to the guillotine). Today it also functions as the Palace of Justice and has a building for the Correctional Police. Some wonder why they should pay to visit a church, but this is really a museum with the name of a church, since there is no religous worship inside.

Suggestion: when purchasing your ticket, think about if you’d like to also visit the Conciergerie. The regular ticket to visit the Sainte Chapelle costs 10€ and the Conciergerie costs 9€. If you buy the bundle you will pay 15€ for both (saving 4€).

This building, inspired by the vision of New Jerusalem, is part of our detailed guide Discover Paris in 4 Days which you can get here.

BONUS: You will likely leave through the Palace of Justice, through a big portal of black and golden gates. If that is the case, turn immediately to your left and walk to the corner so you can see the clock tower and in it in the first public clock in Paris. A jewel from 1370.

You can also read our article about the Top 5 churches in Paris.

Address:
Sainte-Chapelle
8, boulevard du Palais
75001 Paris
Metro Cité, Line 4

The schedule for the Sainte Chapelle are:
⦁ From January 2nd to March 31st: Open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m.
⦁ From April 1st to September 30th: Open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 19:00 p.m.
⦁ From October 1st to December 31st: Open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m
⦁ Last entrance: half an hour before closing time.

Paris awaits!

A bientôt.

The post 5 Things You Should Know About the Sainte Chapelle appeared first on UAT - DescubreParis.com.

This is one of the most beautiful places in the City of Light. The Musée d’Orsay used to be an antique train station built by the Paris-Orléans railway company, it was finished just in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle. Due to its location and the work it would require to update the railways it became “obsolete”, it was left abandoned for some years until it was declared a national monument in 1973 and, thanks to an initiative of President Georges Pompidou, it became the home of stunning artwork by impressionist artists such as: Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cézane, and even Van Gogh. Orsay is much smaller and easier to visit than the Louvre, but the beauty of its paintings has nothing to envy it. Don´t forget to admire the beautiful clocks found in the main lobby and on the east and west ends. As we like to do here in Descubre París, we have created a small guide to help you explore this museum. Of course, it all depends on how curious or passionate you are about art, but we believe this is a place worth visiting, which is why we give you the basic information and some step-by-step tricks to make the most of your visit.

Practical Information

Schedule:

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 18:00 (6 p.m.) and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 21:45 (9:45 p.m.). It is closed every Monday, on May 1st, and on December 25th.

Best days to visit:

• Thursdays during the night shift: 18:00 (6 p.m.) to 21:45 (9:45 p.m.)
• Wednesdays and Fridays

Prices:

The full ticket costs 14€. Entry is free: the first Sunday of the month, for people under 18 years of age, for EU residents between 18 and 25 years of age.

Buying tickets beforehand will raise the ticket price, approximately, to 15,40€.

Making every cent count:

If you will be spending more than one day in Paris and are very interested in seeing other museums we recommend buying tickets in packages:

• You can buy ticket bundles (jumelé) with the l’Orangerie Museum, for 18€ (unbundled: 23€).
• You can buy ticket bundles (jumelé) with the Rodin Museum, for 21€ (unbundled: 26€).
• If you save your ticket you can use it during the following 8 days from day-of-purchase to visit, at a reduced rate, the Garnier Opera, the Gustave Moreau National Museum and the Jean-Jaques Henner National Museum.

To Eat:

The museum has several dining options and although in our Detailed Travel Guides we recommend another restaurant outside the museum, we also consider it important that you know of the available options.

• Café de l’Ourse (The Bear Café): gets its name from the sculpture of a polar bear right next to it. It is a small cafeteria with small plates like chips, salads, and ready to eat sandwiches. Prices start at 5,9€ for a sandwich. There are also breads, pastries, and drinks.
• The Bell Café: a restaurant located behind the impressionists gallery, on the fifth floor. Dishes here are a little more elaborate, and the prices a little higher; it’s more like a casual restaurant. Appetizers start at 9€, entrées between 14€ and 16€, and desserts between 6€ and 16€.
• Le Restaurant: located on the French First Floor (that is a second floor to everybody else) and it’s from the year 1900. It has fixed “Appetizer and Entrée” or “Appetizer and Dessert” menus for 24,5€ and a “Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert” menu for 31€. If that is not what you want, appetizers go from 12€ to 20€, main dishes from 17€ and 28€, and desserts from 8€ to 15€. Prices are pretty good for the type of restaurant. If you have the time and possibility there is a package that includes museum entry tickets and dinner at the restaurant for 63€ (reservation only).

How to visit the d’Orsay Museum

This is our suggested step-by-step guide:

• Once you get to the museum, if you already have your ticket, you should go to door C. If not, you should go to the ticket booth and buy your tickets. Remember that you can also purchase audio guides.
• Once you pass the security checkpoint you will have to validate your ticket (or buy it and then validate it) with the people at the access point.
• If you would like to put a back-pack or any bags in storage you can do it for free, turn immediately to your right after the ticket checkpoints. We suggest you go into to the museum with as little extra weight as possible so you avoid exhaustion.
• After that, go to the main lobby. You will find maps in Spanish or English to your right. If you need it, we suggest you take one to find your way more easily. If you bought the audio guide you should turn to your left.
• Return to the main lobby and you will be standing under one of the famous clocks inside this wonderful museum.

  

• We suggest you cross the Central Hall with the sculptures, taking them in, off course, but go straight to the end and look for the escalators. Go all the way to the fifth floor and begin your visit top to bottom.
• Before you reach the escalators you will pass a space dedicated to the Garnier Opera where there is a scaled model of the neighborhood this amazing building is located in. Take your time looking through it.

On the fifth floor:

• When you get to the 5th floor you will find another one of the famous clocks within the building. It is a well known spot in the museum, you can see the Louvre across the Seine and Montmartre in the back. Once you´ve enjoyed the view (and taken a picture), you can start your stroll on this floor.

  

• This floor has the Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism gallery: Cézanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, Seurat and many more.

  

• You can see each room in a circle and then move on to the next one.
• Right now there are some rooms recently renovated. Right now there are some rooms recently renovated. These are the rooms that housed the pieces by Van Gogh and Gauguin.
• At the end you can find the Bell Café, and the second clock.

On the 4th and 3d Floor:

• The fourth floor has a gallery of decorative arts of Great Britain and Austria, (right on the side where you arrive on the floor).
• The third floor is for Scandinavia and Germany.
• We recommend focusing on the 5th, 2nd, and 0 floors.

Keep Going Down to the 2nd Floor:

• On the second floor you will find a long hallway and, between the rooms, sculptures (from 1880 to 1900) by artists such as Rodin and Claudel, among others.

  

• There is a whole exhibition of Art Nouveau (from Belgium, Spain, France, and Italy).
• There is a hall for Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, and the different currents of Post-Impressionism.
• You can go turn around to see the other side and visit the gallery in front.

Now Keep Going Down to Floor 0:

• It is likely that after going to the Floor 0 or RDC in French (Rez-de-chaussée) you will find yourself once again under the clock. If that is the case, with the clock behind you, start in your right, following the map and starting in the room for Academic Art. If not, you can start with rooms 24 and 23 and keep going down according to the order shown in the map; there is an order to everything according to art history and/or styles. It is likely that you will be doing some back and forth. Let yourself be guided by the order of the rooms, that way you can rest a little between galleries.

  

• On this floor you will find decorative art from the Second Empire: Cézanne, Manet, Courbert among others.
• On this floor you will also find temporary exhibitions, you will have to pay a separate ticket to access them.

Finally:

• You exit through the gift shop and get a little souvenir if you wish to.
• Don´t forget to pass by the lockers (vestiaire) to retrieve your coats and belongings, if you left anything on your way in.
• On your way out, don’t forget to appreciate the animal sculptures found on the entrance plaza of the museum. They are very beautiful.

Whether you have one of our Detailed Travel Guides or not, we suggest taking a break (weather permitting), on the stairs in front of the museum which have a view to the Seine.

If you have one of our Detailed Travel Guides you can take some time to see what is next in your itinerary (probably where to eat if your museum visit was in the morning).

We hope this mini guide was useful and that you can make the most out of your visit to one of the most beautiful museums in the city.

Paris is waiting for you.

À bientôt!

The post Visiting Guide for the Musée d’Orsay in Paris appeared first on UAT - DescubreParis.com.