La Madeleine, Paris

About La Madeleine

La Madeleine is the Catholic church of Saint Mary Magdalene on the square of the same name in the 8th arrondissement. King Louis XV conceived it as the climax of the new Rue Royale leading from the Place de la Concorde, and laid the first stone himself in 1763. Work stopped and the design changed several times, and the church was only consecrated on 24 July 1842, Mary Magdalene's feast day.

Its look is the work of the architect Pierre-Alexandre Vignon, whose design Napoleon chose in 1806. Vignon conceived it as an ancient temple with a colonnade all round, modelled on the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens and the Maison Carrée in Nîmes. There are no towers, no bell tower and no ordinary windows, just a majestic hall.

What to see

• The colonnade — Corinthian columns on all four sides.
• The Last Judgement pediment — Lemaire's sculpture over the entrance.
• The bronze doors — reliefs of the Ten Commandments.
• Three domes — a hall lit from above, clad in coloured marble.
• The apse mosaic — French saints in Byzantine style.
• The Cavaillé-Coll organ — played by Saint-Saëns and Fauré.

The façade and colonnade

Tall Corinthian columns surround the church, a layout called peripteral, like Greek temples. On the south side, facing Rue Royale and the Place de la Concorde, the pediment over the entrance holds Philippe Lemaire's Last Judgement: Christ in the centre, with Mary Magdalene at his feet praying for sinners.

Beneath the portico are huge bronze doors with reliefs of the Ten Commandments. The 30-year-old sculptor Henri de Triqueti made them, inspired by the Florence Baptistery doors, and they are larger than those of St Peter's in Rome. Thirty-three statues of saints stand in niches along the walls of the colonnade. In 2020–2024 the south façade was cleaned and restored for the Olympics.

Inside the church

The interior by the architect Jacques-Marie Huvé is a single long hall without a transept, divided into three bays, each under its own dome with a round skylight. Light is limited, and coloured marble and gilding glow in the half-dark across walls, arches and vaults. The decoration was completed quickly under King Louis-Philippe and is known for its rare harmony.

The half-dome over the choir carries Jules-Claude Ziegler's painting of the history of Christianity in France, and below it a bright late-19th-century ceramic mosaic in Byzantine style of Christ with saints linked to France. Behind the altar stands Carlo Marochetti's marble group The Ecstasy of Mary Magdalene, and by the entrance François Rude's Baptism of Christ.

Music at La Madeleine

La Madeleine has long been tied to music. Above the south entrance stands a great organ built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in 1845, in a carved case with angels and spires. The church's titular organists included the composers Camille Saint-Saëns, Théodore Dubois and Gabriel Fauré, who also led the choir here.

Today the church hosts organ, choral and chamber concerts, with superb acoustics under the domes. Look for the programme at the entrance or on the parish website.

Place de la Madeleine

Around the church lies Place de la Madeleine, one of the most delicious spots in Paris. Famous gourmet shops gather here, selling delicacies, tea, truffles, caviar, chocolate and macarons. A small flower market sits on one side of the square, and the Grands Boulevards begin nearby.

From the church's broad steps you look down Rue Royale to the Concorde obelisk and the colonnade of the Palais Bourbon across the Seine, built deliberately to mirror the Madeleine's so the two buildings face each other.

Tips for your visit

See La Madeleine on the way between the Place de la Concorde and the Palais Garnier, or together with the Place Vendôme: they're all 5–10 minutes apart. Half an hour is enough for the church.

Climb the portico steps and walk round the colonnade, where the saints stand in their niches along the sides. Inside, photos without flash are fine when no service is on.

Afterwards, browse the gourmet shops on the square or have lunch at a café nearby, a good place to buy edible souvenirs of Paris.

Places in Paris: compare and choose

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Place Vendôme

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Place de la Concorde

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Palais Garnier

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How to do it right

• Free entry.
• Not during Mass.
• Concerts by programme.
• Gourmet shops nearby.

Questions