Saint-Sulpice’s broad façade and unfinished-looking towers frame one of Paris’s largest church interiors. Built over centuries, the church gathers architectural styles, Delacroix murals, a monumental organ, and a scientific gnomon beneath a single roof.
Quick facts
The current church’s first stone was laid in 1646 by Anne of Austria.
Its foundations reach back to the twelfth century.
The gnomon’s brass meridian line was used for astronomical observations.
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Guide
At Saint-Sulpice, a brass line crosses the floor and climbs an obelisk on the north transept wall. It is not a secret boundary or the Paris Meridian: it belongs to an astronomical instrument commissioned for this church. That meeting of faith, science and long parish life is a fitting way into one of Paris’s largest churches.
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