Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde

Visit description

Located in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde impresses with its two spires rising to 69 metres. Consecrated in 1857, it is one of the most striking examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in Paris—born from the Romantic desire to recover the spirituality of the Middle Ages through modernised medieval forms.

Flooded with light from its colourful stained-glass windows, the interior also features an exceptional sculpted Stations of the Cross. The basilica is likewise a place of pilgrimage for music lovers: its grand organ was played for more than thirty years by the famous composer César Franck.

Visit plan

Step 1: The façade

Observe the Neo-Gothic façade and its blind arcades, dominated by the statue of Sainte Clotilde on the gable.

Step 2: The central portal

Examine the tympanum depicting Christ in Majesty and the archivolts recounting the story of Clovis and Clotilde.

Step 3: The nave

Step inside and admire the three-level elevation typical of Gothic architecture, with its arcades, triforium, and clerestory windows.

Step 4: The sculpted Stations of the Cross

Follow the exceptional Stations of the Cross, carved in bas-relief in stone along the aisles.

Step 5: The transept arms

Visit the chapels dedicated to Sainte Clotilde and Sainte Valère, decorated with paintings and bluish rose windows.

Step 6: The ambulatory

Walk through the ambulatory, separated from the choir by a carved stone screen telling the lives of the patron saints.

Step 7: The choir and the high altar

Discover Goudji’s modern bronze altar, set in dialogue with the Neo-Gothic high altar behind it.

Step 8: The grand organ

Finish by looking up at the Cavaillé-Coll organ, a legendary instrument inseparable from César Franck.