Seeing other reviews, realized I never wrote one for here!…read more
My visit was a few years ago though I recall it vividly--after perusing the nearby Marché aux Fleurs de Paris flower market and then the Conciergerie also on Île de la Cité, I arrived to the line outside the entrance to this church on Bd du Palais, with about 30-40 people ahead of me, about a few minutes before noon.
Something to note, they are very strict on entry times here, due to limited capacity, and if you miss you time slot, they'll make you wait until the next available time. I learned this the hard way, not realizing some of the visitors in front of me were there for the next time slot after mine, so when they finished letting people in, my time slot was complete and they didn't let anyone else in until the next scheduled time with available capacity.
So I ended up waiting an extra 30 minutes, and thankfully the 12:30 time slot had availability for me to enter. Once they scan your ticket, you're ushered into the Lower Chapel, which originally served as an everyday place of worship for lower level courtiers, servants and soldiers in the royal entourage. The vibe is dim and intimate, dedicated to the Virgin Mary with simpler stained glass windows, slender columns with painted ribbed vaults. The ceiling is colored an intense blue adorned with golden fleur-de-lys patterns (representing French royal heritage) and red columns with castle symbols (representing the Spanish heritage of Queen Blanche of Castile, mother of Louis IX).
After about 10-15 minutes downstairs most visitors head upstairs to the Upper Chapel, which was a private chapel reserved for King Louis IX, his family, and honored guests, who accessed it directly via a gallery from the royal palace. This space is filled with soaring stained glass windows, containing more than a thousand panels of glass, and depicting scenes from the Bible, from creation to the Passion of Christ.
What an amazing space! The sunlight streaming through the vibrant colored glass was magical, it literally felt like seeing the room through rose-colored glasses. The only downside was the crowds, so if you have the chance I'd recommend getting an early or late time slot if you can.