Paris--Sainte-Chapelle
 

Are there tips for seeing Sainte-Chapell? Are there tours in English? Have heard there is an American by name of Vickie or Vickie-Marie who is a tour guide. How would one find a schedule? What does one tip a tour guide in a site?

http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Sainte.Chapelle/

Can't help you about Vickie, but it's not that big a place. I just toured it myself, reading the info in my green Michelin.

I think there may be tours on-site you can sign up for and no doubt some in English; there often are in places like that. There may be a wait or only a couple a day -- I really don't know, I am just guessing. I did see some guides in there, but they could have been private hires. I would never tip a tour guide in a public facility like that, they are government employees.

Thanks for web site and info on Sainte-Chapelle. Am looking forward to mid May and France--and trying hard to upgrade my poor French a bit with car tapes to and from work.

We ran out of time and saw it on an overcast day. It was magnificent, but with bright sunlight it would have been even better.

I had held it in reserve on our schedule, planning to go there on a sunny day, but it didn't work out that way so we are going to have to go to Paris again.

The important thing to know about the Saint-Chapelle is that the primary windows are upstairs, reached by a small, circular staircase at one end of the ground-floor room. Easy to miss and to think that the first floor is all that there is to see, beautiful though it is.

The Michelin Green Guide has a lot on the edifice. And I at one time had an English pamphlet on the windows that I picked up at the shrine itself.

As stated earlier, it is incredible; a true masterpiece. The windows were damaged a few years ago by an awful hurricane force wind that blew over trees nation wide. It was the same storm that did much damage to the gardens at Versailles and killed many people.

The best time to go in my opinion is when the setting sun is just starting to turn pink. We arrived there for a concert that started at twilight and when we walked in the windows were highlighted with this pink glow.

We had seen it earlier that same day, and thought that the late afternoon view was more impressive. That, however, is a matter of personal taste and many may not agree.

But don't fail to see it. Notre Dame is not far away and could be combined with the visit to Ste. Chapelle.

A concert in that hall is unforgettable. The only drawback is that it is like all those old churches: the sound is full of echos. But that was the usual venue for composers like Vivaldi and Mozart!
I sat up close and thought that the resonance of the hall was incredible. I had never heard violins and cellos sound quite like that.

If you have small travel-sized binoculars, bring them with you so you can see the detail of the windows (many of which are so high up it's hard to see the details with the naked eye).

We never had a guide, ( I nver knew there was one) it is small and easy to walk around, we used a guide book for the pertinent information.
I agree about a concert there, we are going to hear one this March.

I did Sainte-Chapelle myself- that binocular tip is a good one.

I have to tell you, I waited for an English-speaking tour at St. Genvieve, and the guide's speech was so heavily accented, none of the 4-5 of us could understand her, and it added little. Still, we saw a few parts of the cathedral we might not have discovered. I would do it self-guided with a book, and just see if you can catch something there. I went to a cafe, relaxed and returned in time for the tour and a walk to the top for the view.

An hour would have been more than enough for us at this church. Get a book, print out some stuff from the web and call it good.

There are plastic covered placards in English in a wall bin on the upper level that detail the contents of the windows. A small pair of binocs is a good suggestion too!

Binocs are really important here. Be sure that you go on a day when the sun is out - Makes all the difference. As the sun moves, the different windows will light up and sparkle.
I don't think you will need a guide; just have time to sit and stare - your neck will be hurting from craning it to see. It's truly a beautiful place. Read up about it on the web first.
Have a wonderful time.

Liked the binocular suggestion--would not have thought of it myself. Also looked at the green Michelin while at the mall today and may go back and get it--you are right, the description was good. "Vickie-(Marie, I think) may just give scheduled tours. She is an American who has lived in France for six or seven years and been at Sainte Chapelle for about the same time. Thanks for insight that one does not need a guide.