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We've compiled the best of the best in France - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
With its twin spires, Romanesque nave, and early Gothic choir and vaults, the church of Notre-Dame-en-Vaux is one of the most imposing in Champagne. The small museum beside the excavated cloister contains outstanding medieval statuary.
This eye-catching church with a compact Art Nouveau interior was the first modern house of worship built in Paris (1897–1904) and the first to be constructed of reinforced cement. Architect Anatole de Baudot's revolutionary technique defied the accepted rules at the time with its use of unsupported masonry; critics, who failed to stop construction, feared the building would crumble under its own weight. Today the church attracts a steady flow of visitors curious about its unusual Moorish-inspired facade of redbrick and curved arches. Note the tiny clock at the top left of the bell tower and the handsome stained-glass windows. Free concerts and art exhibitions are staged in the church from time to time.
Tucked in the shadow of mighty Sacré-Coeur is one of the oldest churches in Paris. Built in 1147 on the site of a 5th-century temple to the god Mars, this small sanctuary with its impressive sculpted metal doors was once part of a substantial Benedictine abbey. Besides the church, all that remains is a small cemetery, now closed (you can see it through the ornate metal door on the left as you enter the courtyard). Renovated multiple times through the ages, Saint-Pierre combines various styles. Interior elements, such as the columns in the nave, are medieval; the facade dates to the 18th century, with renovations in the 19th century; and the stained-glass windows are 20th century. Maurice Utrillo's 1914 painting of the titular saint hangs in the Musée de l'Orangerie. Admission is free; English audioguides are €3.
Exquisite 17th-century stained glass can be admired at the church of Saint-Aignan, around the corner from Saint-Pierre.
A 275-foot spire towers over this splendid neo-Gothic church, completed in 1451 and rebuilt in the 1860s. Most of the 2,800 square yards of stained glass were created by the Geyling workshop in Vienna while many carvings are the work of Margraff of Munich. The heaviest of the eight bells was cast in Budapest, and the organ, though manufactured by Merklin of Paris, was inaugurated in 1869 by Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. It is only open to the public on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons.
The church of St-Foy dates from between 1152 and 1190. Its Romanesque facade remains largely intact (the spires were added in the 19th century), as does the 140-foot octagonal tower over the crossing. Sadly, the interior has been mangled over the centuries, chiefly by the Jesuits, whose most inspired legacy is the Baroque, 1733 pulpit depicting the life of St-Francis Xavier. Note the Romanesque bas-relief next to the baptistery, originally the lid of a sarcophagus.
This tiny shrine in the shadow of Notre-Dame is one of the three oldest churches in Paris. Founded in 1045, it became a meeting place for university students in the 12th century and was Dante's church of choice when he was in town writing his Divine Comedy. Today's structure dates mostly from the 1600s, but keep an eye out for older pillars, which crawl with carvings of demons. You can maximize your time inside by attending one of the classical or gospel concerts frequently held here. Alternately, go outside and simply perch on a bench in the lovely garden and gaze across the Seine at the newly restored Notre Dame.
You can't miss the unusual lacy spire of this church as you approach Île St-Louis; it's the only church on the island and there are no other steeples to compete with it. It was built from 1664 to 1726 according to the Baroque designs of architect François Le Vau, brother of the more famous Louis, who designed several mansions nearby—as well as the Palace of Versailles. Saint-Louis's interior was essentially stripped during the Revolution, as were so many French churches, but look for the odd outdoor iron clock, which dates from 1741. Check the church website for upcoming classical music events.
This church, with its chunky Renaissance facade, fast-forwards 300 years from Notre-Dame.
The leading Baroque church in the Marais, its dome rising 180 feet above the crossing, was begun in 1627 by the Jesuits, who modeled it after their Gesù church in Rome. Recently cleaned on the outside but dark and brooding inside, it contains Delacroix's Christ on the Mount of Olives in the transept and a shell-shape holy-water font at the entrance. The font was donated by Victor Hugo, who lived in nearby Place des Vosges. Hugo's beloved daughter, Léopoldine, was married here in 1843, though she met a tragic end less than seven months later, when she fell into the Seine and drowned, along with her husband Charles, who tried to save her.
The twin spires of this parish church compete with the belfry for skyline preeminence. Like the rest of the sanctuary, the spires date from the 1860s, although the 1504 Holy Sepulchre altarpiece in the north transept is a survivor from the previous church.
The oldest church in Troyes, Ste-Madeleine is best known for its elaborate triple-arch stone rood screen separating the nave and the choir. Only a handful of other such screens still remain in France—most were dismantled during the French Revolution. This filigreed Flamboyant Gothic beauty was carved with panache by Jean Gailde between 1508 and 1517. The superbly tranquil Garden of the Innocents, established on the ancient "children's graveyard," symbolizes medieval spirituality.
