dome’s arches were designed by Rondelet and show a renewed interest in the lightness of Gothic architecture. The frescoes of Sainte Geneviève along the south wall of the nave date from the 19th century and are by Puvis de Chavannes. Sufflot’s innovation was to construct his building using rational scientific formulae, which eliminated the need for supporting piers and resulting in the interior’s slender and elegant vaulting. However, his faith in the new scientific methods was somewhat misplaced as cracks soon began to appear and the structural piers had to be thickened. A number of the windows were also blocked to add to the building’s structural integrity.
Panthéon
Opening times: 10am–6.30pm daily, Apr–Sept; 10am–6pm daily, Oct–Mar
Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec
Tel: 01. 44 32 18 00
Did You Know?
The Panthéon was the location for Foucault’s famous pendulum experiment
in 1851 that demonstrated the rotation of the earth.
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Located on Place Ste-Geneviève just behind the Panthéon to the north is the church of St-Etienne-du-Mont. This beautiful church began life as part of the Abbey of Ste-Geneviève and still contains a shrine to the patron saint of Paris. The name St Etienne comes from the patron saint of the old 13th-century Cathedral of Paris.
St-Etienne-du-Mont was enlarged and extended many times until a new church was begun in 1492 by architect Stephen Viguier. This was in a flamboyant Gothic style and was completed in 1537. It was further altered during the Renaissance, when the nave was reconstructed (in 1584) and the current church façade was begun in 1610, thanks to a substantial donation by Marguerite de Valois.
A prestigious church until the Revolution, it was first closed, and then opened as a temple of filial piety. Normal worship resumed in 1801 and the remains of some great literary figures can be found here, such as Racine and Pascal. Marat is also buried in the church’s cemetery.
St-Etienne-du-Mont
Opening times: 8.45am–7.30pm Tue–Fri, noon–7.30pm Mon,
weekend closed midday.
Closed Mon in Jul and Aug
Tel: 01. 43 54 11 79
Link to the Jardin des Plantes walk: Walk along rue Clovis until you come to
rue du Cardinal Lemoine and turn left. Then take a right onto rue Monge.
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