These Are the 10 Most Beautiful Churches and Cathedrals in Paris

This Montmartre landmark is a relative newcomer to the Paris church scene (it was completed in 1914). The design on the Romano-Byzantine-style structure, which rises from the highest point in Paris, was inspired by churches such as Saint Sofia in Constantinople and San Marco in Venice.

Don't miss the grand pipe organ, built in 1898 by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll; it's considered once of the most extraordinary in Paris and Europe.

Located in the heart of the city in the first arrondisement near Les Halles, this 17th-century church is a charming and eclectic mishmash of architectural styles: It's a Gothic structure dressed in Renaissance detail.

The Chapel of the Virgin, which was built in 1640, features a sculpture of the Virgin and Child at the center of the apse surrounded by three large paintings by Thomas Couture.

Inspired by Nimes's Maison Carrée, one of the best preserved Roman temples, this Neoclassical building has not always been a church. It was first commissioned by Napoleon as a memorial, a "Temple to the Glory of the Great Army." After the fall of Napoleon, King Louis XVIII determined the structure would be used as a church, and it was consecrated in 1842.

The Madeleine Church is one of the earliest, large-scale Neoclassical buildings to replicate the entire exterior of a Roman temple. Its 52 Corinthian columns, each of which stretches to 20 meters high, wrap around the entire building. The pediment sculpture depicts the last judgment.

Located in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, this Medieval cathedral is the final resting place for nearly every French king and queen from the 7th century through the 19th century.

Construction of the Gothic church, which stands on the site of the grave of Saint Denis, a bishop of Paris who died in 250 A.D., began in the 12th century and was completed in the 13th century. With over 70 recumbent statues and monumental tombs, the cathedral contains the largest collection of funerary sculpture from the 12th to the 16th centuries in Europe.

On Paris' Ile-de-la-Cite stands a towering feat of religious Gothic architecture—not that one (see slide 6). Sainte-Chapelle, built in the middle of the 13th century by King Louis IX in just seven years to receive Christ's crown of thorns, which had been purchased by Baldwin II, Latin Emperor of Constantinople. (It was removed during the French Revolution and eventually made its way to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. Members of the Paris Fire Brigade saved it during the April 2019 fire.)

Sainte-Chapelle's defining feature is its stunning stained glass: The church boasts 15 windows, each 15 feet high, that depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

Having soared over Paris for more than 150 years, the 19th-century spire of this Ile de la Cite cathedral was destroyed during an April 2019 fire, but has been under major reconstruction ever since. Begun in the 12th century, Notre Dame was the center of Medieval Parisian life. Although the cathedral suffered damage followed by neglect during and after the French Revolution, interest in its preservation was revived following the publication of Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1831.

Today, it's arguably the most famous cathedral in Paris, if not the world. Visitors flock to see its iconic rose window and flying buttresses.

Originally built in the 13th century (then rebuilt in between the 15th and 17th centuries), this Gothic marvel is tucked behind the Pantheon in the Latin Quarter. It contains the shrine of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Don't miss the rood screen made of finely carved stone, the sole surviving example in Paris.

Construction of this Latin Quarter church, one of the largest in Paris, began in 1646. With rococo details like the double colonnade with loggias, it's a true masterpiece in French classical style. Saint-Sulpice has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Paris after figuring prominently in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.

Don't miss the murals painted by Eugene Delacroix between 1855-1861 in the Chapel of the Holy Angels.

Designed by Jesuit architects Etienne Martellange and Francois Derand, this 17th-century church features influences both from French Gothic architecture (such as the traditional cruciform plan and the verticality of its facade) and Italian Baroque architecture (like its curved form details and Corinthian columns on its facade).

The Marais district building likely inspired the church in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables where Cosette marries Marius Pontmercy. Hugo lived nearby in the Place des Vosges from 1832-1848, during which he wrote the novel (it was published in 1845). His daughter Leopoldine was married at Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis in 1843.

Begun in 543 A.D., this Latin Quarter church is one of the oldest religious institutions still standing in Paris. Although the original structure was destroyed by Vikings, the bell tower that still stands today was rebuilt in 1014.

As the church attracted more and more visitors, the village of Saint Germain des Pres was created in the 12th century. It quickly became a significant economic center within Paris and has become an important hub for literature (beginning with the production of hand-copied literature by monks) and philosophy at the nearby Sorbonne University.