Sainte-Chappelle

Sainte-Chappelle is one of my favorite sites in Paris. It is just full of eye candy.

The church is located within the walls of the Palace of Justice, so you have to go through a security check before you get to the inner courtyard. (This picture was taken from just outside the Cite Metro stop).

The steeple and a handful of gargoyles.

A sassy gargoyle making faces at those who approach the church.

Sainte-Chappelle has two floors, and I actually really love the lower floor, almost more than the upper floor. There are tons of columns on the lower floor. I'm guessing they're to help support the upper floor, but they're also really decorative, as is the ceiling.

Here is one of the columns and part of the ceiling. The columns are all painted in this way, but not all in the same patterns, so it looks really cool.

Here is more ceiling.

The upper floor showcases walls almost completely made up of stained glass. It's really quite beautiful. I think the light is typically better in the afternoon, but I was there in the morning, so only a few of the windows had light coming in directly.

This depiction of the Savior is above the "rear" doors of the chapel. These doors lead to a little balcony, where the Bishop or Priest could speak to the people outside...

And above that there is a rose window. My favorite thing about the rose window is that little blue heart-shaped piece at the top. Come to think of it, the ones next to it look like heart, too, except for that extra circular bit on top.

Near the entrance to Sainte-Chappelle is an area where there are frequently groups of policemen hanging out. I don't know if it's a requirement for all prospective French policemen to be incredibly attractive, but I might have to make this visit more than once. Oooooh la la. As if Saint-Chappelle weren't eye candy enough...

Maybe next time I'll pretend to faint.