Paris trip 4: Saint Chapelle – The magnificence

“Magnificence” is the only word I can say to describe Saint Chapelle - a former royal chapel. This masterpiece is the place with the most beautiful stained glass windows in the churches and chapels that I have ever visited.

I learned about this magnificent chapel through a series about the architecture, history and sights of Paris on a YouTube channel called “Old Shoes” (in Vietnamese: “Đôi Giày Cũ”). It made me truly impressive from that moment.

Saint Chapelle is located inside a complex of royal buildings, but not close to the street front like many other famous tourist attractions in Paris. Therefore, to step inside the Chapel, I had to queue for security check to enter the building complex and then lined up again to enter the chapel.

Stepping into the Chapel, "wow" is the word I had to say because of its magnificence. This beauty came from the magical stained glass windows stretching 360 degrees around me. These are depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments.

My neck almost “broke” when I had to look straight up to enjoy the beauty as well as to take pictures.

The gorgeous rose window.

I regretted that I did not have much knowledge about Catholic or had no idea about its special architecture, so I did not get the meaning of the sculptures and the stories told behind the stained glass.

The ground floor is a souvenir shop. Instead painting on my head like Royal Chapel at Versailles Palace, there is vaulted ceiling decorating with French royal lily flowers in Saint Chapelle.

Because of royal relevance, the Chapel was the target of destruction by angry people during French Revolution. A great number of artifacts of Saint Chappelle was destroyed, such as king statues or sculptures.

Going outside, I could see the Palais de la Cité, a medieval residence, one of the oldest buildings in Paris and also the place where Queen Marie Antoinette was imprisoned during the French Revolution.