St-Eustache

From Paris Hotels Reviews

For an antidote to steel-and-glass troglodytism head for the soaring vaults of the beautiful church of St-Eustache, on the north side of the gardens. Built between 1535 and 1637, the church is Gothic in structure, with lofty naves and graceful flying buttresses, and Renaissance in decoration – all Corinthian columns and arcades. Molière, Richelieu and Madame de Pompadour were baptized here, while Rameau and Marivaux were buried here. The side chapels contain some minor works of art, including, in the tenth chapel in, the ambulatory, an early Rubens (The Pilgrims at Emmaus), and, in the sixth chapel on the north side, Coysevox’s marble sculpture over the tomb of Colbert, Louis XIV’s finance minister. In the Chapelle St-Joseph there is a naïve relief by British artist Raymond Mason, The Departure of Fruit and Vegetables from the Heart of Paris, 28 February 1969, showing a procession of market traders, resembling a funeral cortège, leaving Les Halles for the last time. The church has a long musical tradition and is a popular venue for concerts and organ recitals.