A Walking Tour Paris

Continue along rue des Archives, crossing rue de Rivoli, and you will come to rue de Lobau. On your left is a small square, at the end of which is the magnificent church of St-Gervais-St-Protais. This beautiful place of worship is one of the oldest in Paris and is named in honour of Gervais and Protais, two Roman soldiers martyred for their Christianity by the Emperor Nero.

A Gothic church was begun here, on the site of a much older building, in the late 15th century. Its apse was finished around 1530 and the transept in 1578. The church’s doorway was built by Claude Monnard between 1616 and 1620 and is in the Neoclassical style. In fact, the church is one of the first examples of this style to be found in Paris, and its façade obeys the rules of Classical architecture established by the Coliseum in Rome, consisting of three tiers of columns in Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles. The disconnect between the Neoclassical exterior and the Gothic interior is surprising and delightful. The church also contains an excellent organ, and is where François Couperin (1668–1733) composed his two famous masses.