★★★★★ 5.0
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Église Saint-Sulpice
This church is perfectly unfinished! Saint-Sulpice's south tower stands five meters shorter than its twin because builders simply gave up in 1780 - imagine stopping your tower mid-build! This 6th arrondissement giant took 100 years to construct on top of a crushed medieval church's bones. Inside Paris's second-tallest church, discover where the scandalous Marquis de Sade was baptized and a colossal 1781 pipe organ taller than TWO giraffes stacked! Hunt for the sneaky revolutionary inscription still hiding at the entrance from when this became a "Temple of Victory."
Did You Know?
- Église Saint-Sulpice is famous for its unique 18th-century astronomical gnomon, a scientific instrument designed to track the equinoxes and solstices, which features a brass line running across the floor to an obelisk—this rare blend of science and religion made the church a key location in Dan Brown’s 'The Da Vinci Code', where it plays a role in a fictional treasure hunt.
- The church boasts one of the world’s largest and most celebrated organs, the Great Organ, built in 1781 and later rebuilt by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in 1862; it is renowned for its powerful sound and has been played by famous organists, making Saint-Sulpice a must-visit for music lovers.
- Saint-Sulpice has an eclectic architectural history, with construction spanning over a century and involving multiple architects—resulting in mismatched towers (one Neo-Classical, the other unfinished) and a striking Rococo facade by Giovanni Servandoni; it also survived the French Revolution, briefly serving as a 'Temple of Victory' for the Cult of the Supreme Being, a legacy still faintly visible in a revolutionary inscription above the entrance.