Saint Germain des Prés Church Paris

This is my guide to Saint Germain des Prés church (Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés), one of the best places to visit on the Left Bank of Paris.

As well as being the oldest church in Paris, it’s also one of the most beautiful churches in the city, and it contributed hugely to the area around it becoming a thriving cultural, artistic and intellectual centre of the city – and indeed all of France.

In this guide, I tell you the history of the church, describe what there is to see, how to get there, and show you what there is to see in the fascinating area around. Enjoy.

Saint Germain des Pres can lay a strong claim to being the oldest church in Paris, with parts of the building dating from the early 11^th century. It was founded in the 6^th century AD and was the resting place of the earliest Kings of the Franks.

The church played a major part in the history of Paris, especially because of the Abbey’s literary output until the 17^th century, and helped establish the surrounding area as a gathering place for intellectuals.

After its 19^th century restoration – or more accurately re-creation – it became one of the most beautiful churches in Paris, full of vivid colour like medieval churches in Europe would have been before the reformation and, later, the French Revolution.

It is also home to several important tombs, including those of philosopher Rene Descartes and a Polish king.

Saint Germain des Prés – which means ‘St Germanus of the Meadows’ – was founded by Childebert I, the second King of the Franks, in 543 AD, and completed 15 years later. It was the church of a Benedictine Abbey, and was originally in the countryside, beyond the boundary of the city.

The church was originally dedicated to St Vincent of Saragossa, who was martyred in 304 AD and believed to be the first martyr in Spain.

It was the burial place of the early Frankish kings, but their remains were transferred to the Basilica of Saint Denis in the north of Paris.

The original church was destroyed twice by Viking invaders, and the present building was begun around the year 1000.

Saint Germain des Prés is dedicated to St Germanus of Paris, a Bishop of Paris during the 6^th century AD. He is not to be confused with the St Germanus of Auxerre, who lived over a century earlier, and to whom the church of Saint Germain l’Auxerrois near the Louvre is dedicated.

It was initially built in the Romanesque style, but the Gothic style, using pointed arches, was later adopted.

The Abbey of Saint Germain des Prés was an intellectual powerhouse, famous for its library and the production of manuscripts until the 17^th century.

The French Revolution wrought severe damage on Saint Germain des Prés, and the Abbey prison was the site of mass executions of priests, aristocrats and Swiss Guards in September 1793.

Saint Germain des Prés church was restored over the course of the 19^th century. 

Saint-Germain des Prés church was restored in the 19^th century, but almost certainly not to its former state. It was built to reflect what many medieval churches would have looked like before adherents of the Reformation did away with what was believed to be superfluous decoration.

Worship was meant to be stripped back to the basics, with the incalculable loss of many great art treasures from across Europe.  This is why most medieval church interiors you see consist of plain, unadorned stonework.  Many more treasures were lost as a result of the French Revolution.

So Saint-Germain des Prés church is a riot of colour, top to bottom.

The first thing I noticed was the gorgeous nave vault, a deep blue decorated with golden stars, resembling the night sky. It’s similar to the vault at Sainte-Chapelle, which is painted with golden fleur-de-lis, but you can appreciate the ceiling at Saint Germain des Prés better because it isn’t flooded with as much light.

The walls beneath the clerestory windows of the nave are decorated with a series of paintings by Hippolyte Flandrin. These scenes, painted between 1843 and 1861, depict a range of Old Testament scenes.

The oldest parts of Saint Germain des Prés are the lower levels of the bell tower and the Chapel of Saint Symphorien. The Chapel is often used as a concert venue – sadly it was closed for this reason both times I recently visited – but it’s a very simple, humble and atmospheric part of the church, evoking similar feelings to another very old Parisian church nearby, St Julien le Pauvre.

There is also some original medieval stained glass in the apse chapels around the east end of the church – though most of the glass in the church is more recent.

The church of Saint Germain des Prés is located on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, which runs through the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) area to the south of the Ile de la Cité and river Seine.

The church gives its name to the surrounding quartier, which is part of the 6^th arrondissement of Paris.

Saint-Germain des Prés Metro station is right outside the church of the same name. It is on Line 4 – the cerise-coloured line on the Metro map.

Several Paris buses also pass close by. The 86 service stops across the street from Saint-Germain des Prés Church, while the 39 and 95 buses stop a few metres from the main entrance to the church.  The 70 and 96 services stop two minutes’ walk away on Rue du Four.

The cafes and restaurants around Saint-Germain des Prés have immense, impeccable cultural credentials. The area was known in the early to mid-20^th century as an intellectual and literary hang-out, and this history keeps the visitors coming back.

The closest Saint-Germain des Prés café to the church is Les Deux Magots, at number 6 Place Saint-Germain des Prés.  Its famous clientele included Pablo Picasso, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, locals Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus and Bertolt Brecht.

Neighbours and rivals the Café de Flore attracted local Surrealists including Robert Desnos, and Picasso was also a regular. Brasserie Lipp, across Boulevard Saint-Germain, was frequented by poets Paul Verlaine and Guillaume Apollinaire.

The small square to the north of the church was recently renamed Place Juliette Greco after one of the greatest French chanteuses, who died in 2020.  While there, step inside the delightful garden, Square Laurent Prache, which contains the remnants of the Chapel of the Virgin and a bronze by Picasso.

Continue along Rue de l’Abbaye, on the north side of Saint-Germain des Prés church,  and take the next left turn to rue de Furstemberg, one of the loveliest squares in Paris. This is home to the Musee Eugene Delacroix, in the former home and atelier of the 19^th century artist.

A five-minute walk south of Saint-Germain des Prés takes you to the imposing church of Saint Sulpice Paris, the second largest church in the city. It’s another five-minute walk from there to the northern entrances to the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens), one of the most beautiful parks in Paris.

The river Seine is less than ten minutes’ walk from Saint Germain des Prés. If you turn left at the end of Rue Bonaparte you’ll reach the world-famous Musee d’Orsay, housed in a vast former railway station, and the magnificent Musee du Louvre is across the Seine from there.

Alternatively, you could head towards the Pont Neuf and Ile de la Cite, where the delights of La Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame Cathedral, two of the most famous churches in Paris, await you.