Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Sainte-Chapelle is a personal commission of King Louis IX (the future Saint Louis). It is a private chapel in the heart of his apartments in the Palais de la Cité, the first residence of the kings of France in Paris.
When you turn towards the West in the upper chapel, you are immediately seized by the Rose of the Apocalypse.
Its 9 meters width catches you in a bundle of stone in the shape of "flames". This is a characteristic of the flamboyant gothic of the 15th century.
The current rose is dedicated to the Apocalypse. It was rebuilt under the reign of Charles VIII around 1485. The builders of the 15th century decided to make it a work in the flamboyant style that was contemporary in their time.
The use of silver-yellow since the fourteenth century (metal oxide that can color the glass) revolutionized the art of stained glass.
Honestly, it was hard to get inside of Sainte-Chapelle. I had to make a reservation a week in advance for a specific time slot. The instructions were in French and it was confusing. The crowds going in were also difficult. The line going down the street into Sainte-Chapelle was very long. Many people were cutting in line ahead of me. It was very frustrating and seemed very unfair. The line system was very disorganized. There were several parts in the line going in where there where there were troops with machine guns asking question. Next, we all had to pass through a metal detector and additional security. It was difficult and I came close to giving up. I kept asking myself if all this effort was worth it just to see another church (I have seen tens of thousands of churches).
With the majority of my videos and photos I don’t think people realize how difficult it is to get into many of these locations that I am featuring. When I travel alone, I really need to be prepared. For example, in advance I didn’t drink any liquids because I knew if I had to get out of the line to find a restroom then I would never have gotten my place back in the line again.
By the time I get into these sites I am often exhausted before I even start filming a video.
I was a bit tired when I finally got inside of Sainte-Chapelle. I did feel a large sense of accomplishment for pulling it off, and actually getting in.
Many people inside Sainte-Chapelle are there just to get the mandatory selfie photo. There were many tourists who are not there for the spiritual aspect or the beauty of the amazing building. They only require the selfie photo that they will post on their Instagram page. (I admit that there is a part of me that is guilty of this as well.)
I could have paid more to rent a headset that played narration on the story and history of Saint-Chapelle. The narration tells you to where to stand for your entire visit. You stand in space #1, then you to move to space #2, #3, etc. I chose not to rent a headset because there was just too much going on. It was just too crowded there
There was a child who had squeaky shoes inside of the chapel. He was purposely squeaking his shoes on the floor as loud as he could the entire time. I could not understand why his parents did not stop him after a long time. Sadly, that is the world we live in today.
In every amazing place I visit that is over-crowded I am imagining what it would be like to have the entire place to myself.
There have been instances in my life where I did get to experience an amazing place all to myself. These are moments that I cherish and will never every forget.
I am glad that I take these videos to watch later. I can have a much different experience later when I go back and look at the video. I always see things I did not notice when I was there.
#Sainte-Chapelle #saintechapelle #paris #france #europe #europa #church #stlouis #chapelle #christian #christianity #cathedral
Sainte-Chapelle is a personal commission of King Louis IX (the future Saint Louis). It is a private chapel in the heart of his apartments in the Palais de la Cité, the first residence of the kings of France in Paris.
When you turn towards the West in the upper chapel, you are immediately seized by the Rose of the Apocalypse.
Its 9 meters width catches you in a bundle of stone in the shape of "flames". This is a characteristic of the flamboyant gothic of the 15th century.
The current rose is dedicated to the Apocalypse. It was rebuilt under the reign of Charles VIII around 1485. The builders of the 15th century decided to make it a work in the flamboyant style that was contemporary in their time.
The use of silver-yellow since the fourteenth century (metal oxide that can color the glass) revolutionized the art of stained glass.
Honestly, it was hard to get inside of Sainte-Chapelle. I had to make a reservation a week in advance for a specific time slot. The instructions were in French and it was confusing. The crowds going in were also difficult. The line going down the street into Sainte-Chapelle was very long. Many people were cutting in line ahead of me. It was very frustrating and seemed very unfair. The line system was very disorganized. There were several parts in the line going in where there where there were troops with machine guns asking question. Next, we all had to pass through a metal detector and additional security. It was difficult and I came close to giving up. I kept asking myself if all this effort was worth it just to see another church (I have seen tens of thousands of churches).
With the majority of my videos and photos I don’t think people realize how difficult it is to get into many of these locations that I am featuring. When I travel alone, I really need to be prepared. For example, in advance I didn’t drink any liquids because I knew if I had to get out of the line to find a restroom then I would never have gotten my place back in the line again.
By the time I get into these sites I am often exhausted before I even start filming a video.
I was a bit tired when I finally got inside of Sainte-Chapelle. I did feel a large sense of accomplishment for pulling it off, and actually getting in.
Many people inside Sainte-Chapelle are there just to get the mandatory selfie photo. There were many tourists who are not there for the spiritual aspect or the beauty of the amazing building. They only require the selfie photo that they will post on their Instagram page. (I admit that there is a part of me that is guilty of this as well.)
I could have paid more to rent a headset that played narration on the story and history of Saint-Chapelle. The narration tells you to where to stand for your entire visit. You stand in space #1, then you to move to space #2, #3, etc. I chose not to rent a headset because there was just too much going on. It was just too crowded there
There was a child who had squeaky shoes inside of the chapel. He was purposely squeaking his shoes on the floor as loud as he could the entire time. I could not understand why his parents did not stop him after a long time. Sadly, that is the world we live in today.
In every amazing place I visit that is over-crowded I am imagining what it would be like to have the entire place to myself.
There have been instances in my life where I did get to experience an amazing place all to myself. These are moments that I cherish and will never every forget.
I am glad that I take these videos to watch later. I can have a much different experience later when I go back and look at the video. I always see things I did not notice when I was there.
#Sainte-Chapelle #saintechapelle #paris #france #europe #europa #church #stlouis #chapelle #christian #christianity #cathedral
