Why You Should Visit the Amazing Panthéon in Paris

The Panthéon in Paris, France is an awesome site that not as many people visit compared to the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre.

Sure, this site is not off the tourist track and still sees plenty of visitors.

But I think it gets overlooked in favor of other sites which is unfortunate — because it’s an impressive monument worthy of time.

The Panthéon is located in the Latin Quarter, the 5th arrondissement, so it’s well situated near other sites.

In my opinion, you should make time to visit this magnificent building.

And here are some fabulous reasons why!

 

The Panthéon has some amazing architecture

I love architecture!

Not all that modern stuff.

Old buildings.

I love old buildings and structures.

So the Panthéon fits into my “style”.

It is considered Neoclassical so it has elements of the classics — Greek and Roman — but with some more “modern” aspects.

It was designed by Jacques-Germain Soufflot who envisioned something grander than St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London.

Construction started in 1758 as a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, Paris’ patron saint.

But that silly thing called the French Revolution started by the time it was finished in 1790.

Soufflot never saw the completion of his grand idea.

The Panthéon went back and forth between being a church and a temple — the “Temple of the Nation” — where the great people of France would be buried.

In fact it started out as this national temple then became a church then went back to a temple — which is what it is today.

The dome is really cool.

And it’s actually 3 domes.

The outer dome is the one you see from the outside.

It’s built of stone bound together with iron cramps.

Inside the walls are concealed buttresses that provide additional support.

The inner or lowest dome is actually a coffered ceiling which is decorated with rosettes and open to the middle dome.

It’s the middle dome that has this beautiful fresco.

We’ll get to that.

I also love the columns that you walk by at the entrance.

It gives that grandiose, important feel to a building.

And this building is very important to Paris and to France.

The interior has a few naves (3 I think), more columns and arches.

It’s impressive as hell.

I have to admit, the Panthéon exceeded my expectations from an architectural standpoint.

It’s amazing!

Beautiful artwork

As I alluded to above there is some amazing art work in the Panthéon.

No this is not a museum like the Louvre or the Orsay, but you can still find great works of art here.

The fresco The Apotheosis of Saint Genevieve by Antoine Gros is in the dome.

Stunning!

There are other paintings on the walls of the main floor depicting the life of St Genevieve and St Denis, Paris’ other patron saint.

You’ll also find many statues on the main floor.

The main one is La Convention Nationale which pays homage to the French Revolution.

It’s an incredible group of sculptures.

Below in the crypt —  we’ll get to this — you’ll find a few more sculptures.

Also, before you go into the building note all the art on the exterior.

The pediment — above the columns — has a plethora of sculptures of well-known scientists, philosophers and statesmen.

You’ll find Rousseau, Voltaire and Lafayette and even Napoleon Bonaparte.

Be sure to notice all the details of this marvelous site.

The pendulum is very cool

I have to admit, I didn’t know a lot about the Panthéon when I made my visit.

I read a couple of sentences and had passed it on my first visit to Paris in 2008.

But I never entered.

So I had no idea about the Foucault Pendulum.

Then I saw it.

And was definitely mesmerized by it.

I find these physics things to be fascinating probably because I have no idea how it all works.

I’m not a science person but I have such an admiration and respect for folks who study the sciences.

While this pendulum is not Léon Foucault’s original pendulum, one of his original creations was in the Panthéon for a time.

This French physicist created this device to show the Earth’s rotation — to show simple, direct evidence of how the Earth rotated.

If you’ve been to any sort of science museum you’ve probably seen one of these as they are quite popular.

But it’s pretty special to see this one at the Panthéon knowing that one of the original pendulums was displayed here first.

You can pay homage to some of the notable people in French history

So….

The Crypt.

Sounds kind of creepy, but this is really awing.

There are so many notable French people buried here — or at least some of their remains are here.

And it makes you realize how many distinguished people from science, art, literature, philosophy and politics are French.

Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Jean Moulin, Louis Braille and Soufflot — the architect of this magnificent building.

Marie Curie was the first woman to be interred in the Panthéon on merit.

There are other wives of famous men who were buried here first.

Alexandre Dumas was moved here in 2002.

Heroes of the French Revolution are buried in the Panthéon.

And many of those who were part of the Resistance during WWII are also interred here — ordinary folks who did extraordinary things.

It’s a somber place yet also a place of hope, respect and admiration — admiration of people who built a nation.

My advice is to spend some time in the crypt.

Walk around and take it all in.

Read about the people.

There are wonderful interactive screens to learn about these amazing French people.

Views over the city

One of the things I did not get to do was to go up the 206 steps to the viewing platform of the Panthéon.

It was January so this platform was closed.

But it is open from April through October and it has some of the best views of Paris — panoramic views!

It does cost a few extra Euro to make the climb up.

But I hear it’s well worth it.

This is at the top of my list for the “next time in Paris”!

Have you visited the Panthéon?

I highly recommend making the time to visit this magnificent building.

The architecture, the art, the crypt, the pendulum and the views.

This is a not-to-be-missed site in Paris.

 

Please note that Wander Your Way does not recommend travel at this time due to the current global health situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, many destinations and attractions found on this website will not be operating. Please stay up to date using official sources like the WHO. I do plan to continue to write about incredible destinations and to offer tips on travel to Europe, so that you will find some solace in these posts — so you dream about travel and learn about travel. This way when we can all travel again, you’ll be ready to go! For now, stay home and stay safe!

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