Expiatory Chapel

Close to Haussmann Boulevard and the excitement of the Galeries Lafayette and the Printemps, hides an architectural wonder** in a neo-classical style.

A chapel to remember

The Expiatory Chapel, located in Louis XVI Square, remains one of the most original religious buildings in Paris. Requested by Louis XVIII, this chapel was built in 1815 in memory of his brother Louis XVI and his wife Queen Marie-Antoinette, guillotined in 1793 on Place Royale, now Place de la Concorde**. It was on this land, which also served as a mass grave during the darkest hours of the French Revolution, that their remains were buried. If the tortured bodies are now buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis, north of Paris, this place is nevertheless full of emotion and memories.

Inside the building, under a dome and vaults of rare beauty, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette still appear to be watching over the site. On the pedestal of the king's statue is engraved his will written before his execution, while the last letter written to Mrs Elisabeth, the king's sister, can be read on the pedestal of the statue of Marie-Antoinette. The altar visible in the crypt is an invitation to meditation. It was erected at the exact place where the king was buried.

A haven of peace and a page of French history to discover in the heart of Paris.