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HomeParis TravelPanoramic Views from the Panthéon ⋆ Secrets and techniques of Paris

Panoramic Views from the Panthéon ⋆ Secrets and techniques of Paris


Since April 1st, the colonnade of the Panthéon’s restored dome is open once more for visits, providing 360° views of Paris for these keen to climb the vertiginous 206 steps. I haven’t at all times been an enormous fan of visiting the Panthéon. It appeared extra hassle than it was price until you’re an unusually patriotic French particular person (bordering on nationalistic) or simply wish to see Foucault’s pendulum in motion. However the further choice to see the panoramic views over Paris makes the entire go to extra attention-grabbing.

Panthéon, Paris
The Panthéon as seen from the entrance of Eglise-St-Etienne-du-Mont

Why Go to

Certain, the Panthéon’s structure is spectacular for its sheer dimension, the artworks partaking for those who trouble to learn the descriptions (you’ll want the audioguide or a smartphone translator), and the views from the dome’s colonnade beautiful.

Like Père Lachaise Cemetery, most guests are simply right here sightseeing, to not pay their respects to the useless. Not that there’s something fallacious with that. Simply don’t be a kind of individuals who visits as a result of the heard they “ought to”, dutifully taking within the dates and names and descriptions of the artworks like the numerous college youngsters marched by way of right here as a part of their civic training, solely to depart with none actual understanding of what the Panthéon stands for, what makes it particular, and why it’s price your money and time to go to.

So for those who’ve come a protracted strategy to go to, do take a second to scan the listing of the women and men interred right here to see if there’s anybody specifically you’d prefer to “see” or be taught extra about. In any case, studying one thing new is likely one of the nice presents of journey, and each particular person buried within the Panthéon theoretically has a noteworthy historical past.

A Quick Intro to the Panthéon

You possibly can spot the instantly-recognizable dome of the Panthéon from nearly any elevated vantage level in Paris. It sits atop one of many Left Financial institution’s highest hillsides, the Montaigne Sainte Geneviève, named for the 6th-century basilica housing the relics of the town’s patron saint that initially stood there. After miraculously surviving an sickness in 1744, King Louis XV vowed to construct a brand new church in her honor, nevertheless it took so lengthy to lift the funds and get began that it wasn’t completed till the start of the French Revolution, when it was reworked as an alternative right into a mausoleum for the “nice males of France” in 1791 (the primary girl wouldn’t be interred there till Could 1995).

A statue of J.J. Rousseau in front of the Panthéon where he's buried.
Statue of French thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of many many buried inside.

Some Attention-grabbing Information

  • Should you suppose the Panthéon seems just like the US Capitol, that’s as a result of the neoclassical architectural type impressed by historical Rome and Greece — massive columns, outstanding domes, and pediments with aid sculptures — was in style all through the Western world in the course of the late 18th and early nineteenth centuries.
  • The Panthéon reverted to a church twice in the course of the political turbulence of 19th-century France, solely to completely grow to be a monument to the republic in 1885 with the funeral and “Panthéonization” of Victor Hugo.
  • What was left of Saint Geneviève’s relics after being pillaged by French revolutionaries at the moment are displayed within the Eglise St-Etienne-du-Mont subsequent door (additionally price a go to when you’re within the neighborhood).
  • The Panthéon’s architect, Jacques-Germain Soufflot, died in 1780, earlier than his monument was completed. In 1999 I met certainly one of his descendants (now residing in New Zealand) on my honeymoon, and in 2000 confirmed him and his spouse round Paris. They made off with a “memento” of his great-great-great grandfather’s Panthéon, which I wrote about in one of many earliest Secrets and techniques of Paris articles, Paris in a Week Half 3: Kiwis on the Transfer!
  • The in any other case non-descript Wagner clock above the doorway to Rondelet’s scale mannequin of the Panthéon has a captivating story behind it. In 2005 a gaggle of unlawful restorers” referred to as Untergunther arrange a secret workshop and lounge in a cavity underneath the constructing’s well-known dome and repaired the vintage clock that had been left to rust because the Sixties, solely revealing their presence after they accomplished the repairs a 12 months later.  
The now famous Wagner clock
The now well-known Wagner clock within the Panthéon

Artworks within the Major Degree

While you enter the Panthéon, it’s not onerous to be impressed with its sheer dimension. The absence of chairs or pews that you just’d usually discover in cathedrals or basilicas of comparable dimension contributes to the sensation of spaciousness, and even vacancy. With the crypt downstairs, what to do with this huge area?

The main floor of the Panthéon
The primary ground of the Panthéon

They embellished it with artwork: dramatic frescoes and sculptures glorifying the Nice French heroes and conquerors. Though it’s thought-about a secular monument immediately, most of France’s early heroes have been additionally carefully linked to the church, like Clovis, Joan of Arc and Louis XIV, aka Saint Louis (the latter two being the favourite saints of the Far Proper in France). Joan of Arc has a complete wall devoted to her life story (carry binoculars in order for you to have the ability to see the smaller scenes on the prime).

So it’s a bit heavy on the romanticism/nationalism (even going so far as placing the faces of in style politicians of the time like Gambetta within the historic battle scenes alongside Clovis), however for those who’re conscious of it then it’s not so bizarre. Similar goes for the go to to the crypt to see the burials. In any case understanding extra information will assist with context, so getting the audioguide is useful (€3 further, and also you’ll want to depart your ID as collateral); the free brochure in English on the entrance is fairly sparse on its information (and doesn’t even point out the Foucault’s Pendulum), so a translator app in your telephone to learn the varied inscriptions may be useful.

La Convention Nationale
La Conference Nationale

This immense statue and the mosaic above it just about seize the difficult story of the Panthéon in a single look. The Nationwide Conference by François Sicard was commissioned in 1913 to have a good time the French Republic, positioned within the spot normally occupied by the altar in a church (France had legalized the separation of church and state in 1905). The girl within the heart wears a Phrygian cap, aka Liberty cap, an icon of the French Revolution (and the inspiration for the Paris 2024 Olympics mascot, weirdly sufficient). On one aspect are members of the French Parliament taking their oath, and on the opposite aspect are troopers and drummer boys from the military of the republic. Ernest Hébert’s mosaic above, created between 1875-1884, exhibits figures representing (l to r): Joan of Arc, Saint Generviève, Jesus, “the Angel of France”, and the Metropolis of Paris (kneeling with the little boat in her hand, as within the metropolis’s coat of arms). The title in Latin beneath it roughly interprets to “Jesus displaying the destinies of his individuals to the Angel of France”.

Due to when it was accomplished, there aren’t any frescoes of WWI or WWII, however there are many statues and inscriptions on the partitions from the twentieth century, in addition to extra recognition within the crypt. And since that is France, there are additionally many writers and scientists honored within the Panthéon, as a result of they carry glory to the republic, as nicely. I really checked to see if anybody buried there’s a soccer participant, however there aren’t any athletes (but).

Foucault’s Pendulum

Within the heart of the Panthéon’s fundamental ground, hanging from the cupola by a metal wire, a 28-kilo brass and lead ball swings slowly forwards and backwards. That is the place the well-known 1851 science experiment by the French astronomer and physicist Léon Foucault (additionally the inventor of the gyroscope) proved the rotation of the earth. It was reinstalled completely within the Panthéon in 1995 (it was briefly eliminated throughout renovations of the dome from 2015 till very not too long ago, which can clarify why it’s not talked about within the English brochure).

Visiting the Crypt

Because the monument is devoted to the notable residents of France, it appears becoming to go to the crypt to pay your respects. Observe the indicators to the doorway main downstairs, the place you’ll discover galleries housing the tombs of the 81 Panthéonized French males and – solely fairly not too long ago – girls from all walks of life, together with Resistance heroes (Jean Moulin, Josephine Baker), politicians (Jean Jaurès, André Malraux, Simone Veil), writers (Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Alexandre Dumas), scientists (Marie advert Pierre Curie), philosophers (Rousseau, Voltaire), and even inventors (Louis Braille). These names are normally recognized outdoors of France, however most guests (and even most French individuals) received’t acknowledge the vast majority of the names carved into the stone.

The Panthéonization of somebody is as much as the French president, so tends to mirror the politics of the time, even when quite a lot of lobbying occurs when somebody ‘in style’ dies in France (singer Johnny Hallyday isn’t in there). Not everybody who may be buried within the Panthéon desires to be (Louis Pasteur is in his personal custom-built crypt on the Pasteur Institute; Charles de Gaulle wished to be buried in his hometown cemetery).

You possibly can be taught extra concerning the individuals interred within the crypt because of the numerous informational contact screens (which have information in English). Among the mausoleums are open so you possibly can go to the person tombs inside, others you possibly can solely see by way of small home windows. It’s alleged to be a solemn, silent go to, however as soon as it will get crowded individuals get fairly chatty and also you’ll sometimes hear a guard name for silence.

There are additionally a number of cabinets of books in a single nook of the crypt the place you possibly can sit and skim works written by or concerning the individuals interred there (at a look, all in French), though I don’t know who would have time (they’re additionally on the market upstairs within the giftshop).

Ideas for Visiting the Panorama

View from the Panorama
View from the Panorama

A transparent day is finest for having fun with the 360° views of Paris from the colonnade, together with the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral (and its reconstruction cranes), the Montparnasse Tower, the Heart Georges Pompidou, the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, the Arc de Triomphe, the skyscrapers of La Défense, and Jean Nouvel’s leaning Duo Towers within the 13th.

There are 206 steps to get to the panorama, which don’t really feel notably exhausting as a result of there are a number of locations to cease and relaxation and a mid-point view (which is outdoors) earlier than climbing the ultimate steepest stairs to the highest (these are most dizzying on the best way down). As soon as up within the colonnade, it’s roomy sufficient for everybody to stroll round and get vantage level on the totally different monuments.

Not which you can at all times know the climate prematurely, but when it’s unhealthy the panorama can be closed (since you’re strolling outdoors on steep stone steps, so there are sections unprotected from the weather). Unsure if this implies “gentle rain” or if it needs to be gale pressure winds and sleet, however you wouldn’t actually see a lot of a view anyway in these circumstances.

Get Your Tickets in Advance

The panorama is simply open from April 1th till October thirty first. You’ll have to buy a selected timed ticket on-line that features the doorway to the Panthéon in addition to the panorama for €15 (simply the common entrance and crypt are €11.50). It’s free for those who’re underneath 26, or with the museum cross, though you’ll nonetheless want the net ticket reservation. Word which you can get the discounted accomplice price of €12.50 when you have a Thello, Thalys, SNCF Intercités, Paris Go to, or Les Amis du Louvre card, or when you have your river cruise ticket from the Vedettes du Pont Neuf. The audio information (€3) solely covers the Panthéon and crypt, not the panorama. The final audioguide is rented at 4:45pm.

The time on the ticket isn’t for the doorway to the Panthéon itself, only for the panorama entrance, so that you’ll really have to arrive on the Panthéon a bit prematurely. Give your self 30-45 minutes, since you possibly can at all times spend that point visiting the crypt and the primary a part of the Panthéon for those who don’t have to attend lengthy in line.

Spoiler Alert: You Can’t “Skip the Line”

The line for people with tickets.
I’m within the line for individuals with tickets.

As a result of even when you have bought your ticket prematurely (or have a museum cross), you should still have to attend within the particular line for everybody else who already has a ticket or museum cross (I waited about quarter-hour in line). The opposite two strains are for individuals with out tickets and enormous teams with their information. The road for individuals with out tickets may look shorter at first, however that’s as a result of it wraps by way of a number of switchbacks, whereas the road for these with tickets is only one straight line.

When To Go to

Opening hours are 10am-6:30pm April 1st by way of September 30th, till 6pm the remainder of the 12 months. As for when it’s least crowded? Proper after they open and an hour earlier than they shut, nonetheless the final entrance for the panorama is 4:30pm (which ought to provide you with loads of time to go to every part until you get carried away taking selfies with the Eiffel Tower within the background).

Watch out for Vertigo & Uneven Stairs

I don’t advocate attempting to go to in excessive heels, flip flops, or every other footwear that isn’t safe and good for strolling on uneven surfaces. Should you get vertigo, you might also wish to keep away from this specific go to, as you’ll be going downstairs with views going on to the road beneath!



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