Vivaldi? Bach? Surrounded by beautiful stained glass? The entire experience transports you to another time. Sainte-Chapelle is a gothic, medieval church on the Ile de la Cité and was built in the mid-1200’s.
Attending a night time concert at Sainte-Chapelle gives you the opportunity to not only listen to beautiful baroque music, but also see an impressive church. There are 15 stained glass panes and they depict 113 scenes from the Old and New Testaments. These 15 metre high colourful panels are a major part of the Chapelle.
This royal chapel was within the Palais de la Cité, which was the Royal residence and sadly much of Sainte-Chapelle was destroyed during the French Revolution. Renovations in the 19th and 21st centuries have attempted to restore much of the damage from the Revolution, wars, pollution, and visitor traffic.
Most often the classical music program at Sainte-Chapelle includes (light) chamber music by Vivaldi (Four Seasons) or Pacabel (Canon).
Tickets are around 29 Euros and can be purchased through Classictic
Newsletter community members get access to free exclusive content like this bonus, “Top 10 Photo Locations In Paris” cheat sheet. Sign up now!
If you can’t get tickets, you could consider a similar concert at Eglise de Saint-Germain-des-Pres church. It has some stained glass windows, but not as many as at Sainte-Chapelle.
Check out more “Top 100 Experiences In France“.
4 Comments
Celeste Sue Volker
September 24, 2022 at 4:04 pmWe will be in Paris on November 17-21st. Very interested in attending a concert at St. Chapelle. Are there ever additional concerts added to the schedule or extra tickets available for purchase?
Thanks!
Jan
October 2, 2022 at 9:44 amI’m actually in Paris right now and I’m unable to give you a more detailed answer; however, it looks like they have fewer concerts than they did pre-Covid. I used to order tickets thru Classictic but it looks like they’re just doing special Xmas concerts.
You’ve probably already seen the Sainte Chapelle website that directs you to another company, Euromusic. That’s where I was surprised there were so few.
The other church where I attended a concert was Église de Saint Germain des Prés.
I realize it’s not the same as going to Sainte Chapelle, but it might be an option.
mm
January 2, 2023 at 4:59 pmI will be attending a 20:00 concert at the end of March at Sainte Chapelle. I’d like to get there an hour or so before sunset (which I believe is around 7pm that time of year), but I believe the general closing hour for Sainte Chapelle is 17:00 that time of year. Does anyone know how early I can get into the building prior to the concert? Will the doors be open for entry at 6pm for people with tickets to the show?
Jan
January 2, 2023 at 6:24 pmUnfortunately, I have no idea how early Palais Garnier opens before a performance. When I did a Google search it said 1 hour; however, I’m not sure how accurate this is. You might want to reach out to them via social media.