It\u2019s not every day you can say you\u2019ve visited a religious site called one of the most beautiful places on Earth. But Saint Chapelle is just such a place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The gothic chapel, built in the 13th century on the Ile de la Cit\u00e9, was home to some of Christendom’s most precious relics: bits of the True Cross brought back from the Crusades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Le but de la Sainte Chapelle \u00e9tait double. Elle \u00e9tait con\u00e7ue comme une chapelle du palais royal pour Louis IX et sa famille \u2013 d'o\u00f9 son emplacement au sein du Palais de la Cit\u00e9, qui abritait \u00e9galement la cour du roi \u2013 et comme une grande d\u00e9monstration de la pi\u00e9t\u00e9 et du pouvoir de Louis. Et cela n\u2019a d\u00e9\u00e7u ni sur aucun point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The interior of Saint Chapelle is an awe-inspiring sight, with stained glass windows stretching almost 50 meters (150 feet) high and reaching around three-quarters of the way up the walls. There is so much glass that, on a sunny day, the chapel is filled with light, giving it an almost ethereal quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lower level of Saint Chapelle was meant for royal use only and consisted of a large hall with a marble floor and gilded woodwork. But it is the upper level \u2013 known as the Chapel of the Relics \u2013 that takes your breath away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, you can see some of those precious relics, including a fragment of the True Cross and thorns from Christ\u2019s crown, set on the altar. A visit to Saint Chapelle is included in many Paris<\/a> des visites touristiques, mais cela vaut aussi la peine d'y aller seul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n