Sainte-Chapelle

The chapel was consecrated on 26 April 1248 to house Louis IX's collection of relics of the Passion, among them the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross. It is a masterpiece of Rayonnant Gothic, the style in which walls almost disappear behind glass. The relics have been kept in the treasury of Notre-Dame since the early 19th century; the chapel remains inside the old royal palace, the Palais de la Cité, now the Palais de Justice.

The building has two levels. The lower chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, served the palace staff; the upper chapel was reserved for the royal family and their guests and held the relics. Climb the narrow stairs into the upper chapel to see its 15 great windows and the rose window with 89 panels showing the Apocalypse. Nearly two thirds of the glass is original 13th-century work, despite damage during the French Revolution, and a restoration from 2008 to 2015 cleaned all of it.

On Tiqets you can choose an entry ticket that combines the Sainte-Chapelle with the Conciergerie next door, the former royal palace that became a prison during the Revolution. There is also a skip-the-line ticket with a small-group guided tour, and a guided walking tour of Notre-Dame and the Île de la Cité.

Come on a sunny day, ideally around midday or in the afternoon, when light streams through the windows. Because the chapel is inside the Palais de Justice, every visitor passes a security check, so allow extra time at the entrance.