traveldk.com

Although the chapel is no longer used for worship, the soaring stained-glass windows encourage reverence.

The final resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte is the beautiful Dôme Church in the Hôtel des Invalides complex – an elaborate monument to French Classical style. Built as the chapel for the resident soldiers of the Invalides, its ornate high altar is in stark contrast to the solemn marble chapels surrounding the crypt, which hold the tombs of French military leaders. Its golden dome can be seen for miles around (see Hôtel des Invalides).

Patterned after the Pantheon in Rome, this domed late 18th-century church only served as a house of worship for two years, before becoming a monument and burial place for the great and the good of the Revolution era. Later distinguished citizens are also buried here.

For centuries, this monumental Gothic edifice was the “market church” serving the traders of Les Halles. Taking more than 100 years to build, it was finally completed in 1637 and its cavernous interior displays the architectural style of the early Renaissance. Popular Sunday afternoon organ recitals and other classical concerts take place in this wonderfully atmospheric setting.

Designed in the style of a Greek temple in 1764, this prominent church in Paris’s financial district, on the edge of the Opéra Quarter, is one of the city’s most distinctive sights, spectacularly surrounded by 52 Corinthian columns. The church was consecrated to Mary Magdalene in 1845. The bronze doors, which include bas-reliefs depicting the Ten Commandments, and the Last Judgment on the south pediment are exterior highlights, while the ornate marble and gold interior has many fine statues, including François Rude’s Baptism of Christ . Organ recitals are often held in the church.

Built in the late 19th century, this elaborate synagogue is the second-largest in Europe. Its façade design represents the Tablets though, sadly, the building is not open to the public. Other smaller synagogues can be found in the Marais, which has a large Jewish community, including one at 10 rue Pavée, built in 1913 by Hector Guimard, the architect who designed the city’s Art Nouveau metro stations.

The city’s Grande Mosque was built during the 1920s as a tribute to North African Muslims who gave military support to France during World War I. It features beautiful Moorish architecture, executed by craftsmen brought over from North Africa, and a peaceful interior courtyard.

Outstanding frescoes in the Chapel of the Angels by Eugène Delacroix are the highlight of this 17th-century church’s otherwise sober interior. With more than 6,500 pipes, its organ, designed by Jean-François Chalgrin in 1776, is one of the largest in the world. The novelist Victor Hugo married Adèle Foucher here in 1822.