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Expiatory Chapel Paris Tickets

The Expiatory Chapel is a solemn monument dedicated to King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette in Paris. A place of reflection and remembrance, it stands on the site of their burial. Experience history and pay homage to the past in this tranquil Parisian landmark.
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Expiatory Chapel in Paris with blooming white roses in the foreground.
Expiatory Chapel exterior with arches and greenery in Paris, France.
Expiatory Chapel altar with ornate candlesticks and crucifix in Paris, France.
Statue inside Expiatory Chapel, Paris, depicting a kneeling figure holding a cross.
Statue inside Expiatory Chapel, Paris, with ornate ceiling and candelabras.
Explore at your pace
  • Visit the Expiatory Chapel in Paris, an exquisite example of Gothic design, featuring intricate stained glass windows and a stunning rose window.

  • Enhance your visit with a free downloadable booklet, available in 7 languages, to guide you through the chapel's intriguing past.

  • Explore a monument of remembrance built on the site where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were buried during the French Revolution.

  • Visit the royal crypt, housing the royal couple's remains, and admire the sculptures of an angel pointing to the sky and Marie-Antoinette kneeling in reverence.

  • Did you know? The chapel was designed by architect Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, who also worked on Parisian landmarks, like the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe.

More details

  • Visit the Expiatory Chapel in Paris, an exquisite example of Gothic design, featuring intricate stained glass windows and a stunning rose window.

  • Enhance your visit with a free downloadable booklet, available in 7 languages, to guide you through the chapel's intriguing past.

  • Explore a monument of remembrance built on the site where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were buried during the French Revolution.

  • Visit the royal crypt, housing the royal couple's remains, and admire the sculptures of an angel pointing to the sky and Marie-Antoinette kneeling in reverence.

  • Did you know? The chapel was designed by architect Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, who also worked on Parisian landmarks, like the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe.

from
€7

Pro tips to help you make a pick

Standard entry is self-guided and covers the chapel and garden during public opening hours. It does not include a live guide, an audio guide, or access outside standard hours.

Choose a scheduled guided visit only after checking the language and time carefully. The research shows these tours are mainly in French and run only on fixed dates and times.

Do not expect a true skip-the-line product. No dedicated skip-the-line system is advertised, and pre-booking mainly secures your chosen date while avoiding the small ticket-desk step.

All visitors may face a basic bag check at entry, including those with pre-booked tickets. Security checks cannot be skipped.

Check the official calendar close to your visit. Opening days and hours vary by season, and closures can happen for ceremonies, maintenance, or special events.

If your schedule is flexible, buying on arrival is often workable because waits are usually minimal. Pre-booking is more useful when you are visiting in a busier period or on a tight itinerary.

Compare current official tariffs before buying. Admission can change with national tariff updates, and special events such as Nuit des Musées or Journées du Patrimoine may be free or use different access rules.

If you already hold a Centre des monuments nationaux pass or membership, verify whether Expiatory Chapel is currently included before buying a separate ticket.

Plan around 30–60 minutes for a standard visit. Allow more time only if you are joining a guided visit or attending a concert or themed event.

About Expiatory Chapel

Expiatory Chapel is a memorial chapel built on the original burial site of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, not a parish church or museum. Its appeal lies in political memory and funerary symbolism: the hidden garden in Square Louis XVI, Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine's sober neoclassical architecture, and a lower chapel that recalls the former Madeleine cemetery.

Did you know?

Although the chapel commemorates Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, their remains were exhumed in 1815 and reinterred at Saint-Denis Basilica; the monument marks the former burial spot instead of housing their graves.

The chapel was commissioned by Louis XVIII and built from 1815 to 1826 to atone for the executions of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette during the French Revolution.

Its architect, Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, was a major figure in both Napoleonic and Restoration architecture, yet this monument uses a notably restrained neoclassical style.

The garden's yew and cypress planting was designed to evoke a funerary cloister around the chapel, reinforcing the site's role as a memorial built on a former cemetery.

The monument was threatened with demolition several times in the 19th century and was even offered for sale as building land before preservation campaigns saved it.

Why visit Expiatory Chapel?

Original Burial Site of the Royal Couple

This chapel was built on the former burial site of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette in the Madeleine cemetery. Louis XVIII commissioned the monument after their remains were exhumed in 1815 and reinterred at Saint-Denis, so visitors stand at the place that first received the royal couple after their executions.

Bosio and Gaulle's Royal Prayer Sculptures

The sanctuary features paired memorial sculptures that give the chapel much of its emotional weight. François Joseph Bosio sculpted Louis XVI in prayer, while Edme Gaulle created the corresponding figure of Marie-Antoinette, turning the royal story into an intimate funerary scene rather than a triumphal monument.

Crypt Above the Former Mass Grave

When the crypt is open, you can descend to the lower chapel aligned above the former mass grave. Plaques commemorate not only the king and queen but also other guillotine victims buried in the Madeleine cemetery, linking the visit to the wider violence of the Terror.

Fontaine's Neoclassical Chapel and Oculus-Lit Sanctuary

Architect Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine designed the building in a restrained neoclassical style that suits its memorial purpose. Doric forms, a sober nave, and a dome pierced by an oculus draw natural light onto the altar and central sanctuary above the old burial pit.

Enclosed Garden in Hidden Square Louis XVI

Before you reach the chapel, you pass through Square Louis XVI, a gated garden that buffers the site from the Saint-Lazare area. Its yew and cypress planting was planned to evoke a funerary cloister, and the enclosed layout helps preserve the reflective tone of this small memorial.

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