This church was dreamed up by architect Léon Feuchère, with decorations by Joseph Felon and Colin, who clearly couldn’t get enough of fancy interiors, since they also did the prefecture. Construction began when Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte laid the first stone in 1852-imagine the fanfare! The structure was up by 1862, but, just like my breakfast, the finishing touches took two more years. Finally, in June 1864, it was ready for its big debut.
Inside, you’d find a breathtakingly tall nave-over 20 meters high, with elegant arches and Corinthian columns showing off at every chance. Two side chapels cozy up to the nave: on the south, you’ll find Mary holding baby Jesus, calmly ignoring everyone else’s attention. Push your gaze to the stunning stained glass windows-12 in the choir, each one for an apostle, practically a stained-glass family reunion! The rest? Geometric shapes, just in case you needed a break from all the holy faces. Suddenly, ordinary feels a little less ordinary here, right?
