🏛️LandmarkClosed · Opens 10:00 AM$ · Budget-friendly

Expiatory Chapel

Name: Expiatory Chapel
Price range: $
Rating: 4.4

4.4 ·

Step into the Chapelle Expiatoire, a quiet neoclassical monument tucked behind gates near Saint-Lazare. See where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were first laid to rest, away from the crowds of Paris's main tourist trail.

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Reasons to go

Built by Louis XVIII on the site where the guillotined remains of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were first buried before reburial at Saint-Denis
Marks the former Madeleine cemetery used for Revolution victims, later commemorated at their daughter Marie-Thérèse Charlotte's initiative
Remains one of Paris's lesser-visited monuments despite its royal history, offering a quiet setting away from the main tourist circuit

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Full description

The Chapelle Expiatoire was commissioned in the early 19th century to honor Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, marking the former cemetery where their remains were initially interred after the Revolution before being moved to the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Tucked behind gates near Saint-Lazare, it remains one of the city's lesser-known historic sites, appreciated by visitors precisely because it stays off the main tourist circuit.

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Address

29 Rue Pasquier, 75008 Paris, France · Opéra

Website

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Hours

🎫

Booking

Walk-in

Duration

20 min

Best time

morning, lunchtime or afternoon

Intensity

Easy pace

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Good to know

A quiet, uncrowded alternative to the more famous royal sites
check opening hours in advance, they're limited compared to major monuments
combine with a walk through the nearby Saint-Lazare/Madeleine area.

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Reviews

The Chapelle Expiatoire was one of our favorite sights in Paris. This small chapel was built by Louis XVIII to commemorate the place where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were unceremoniously buried, after their executions. A small altar in the lower section shows the exact spot the King’s body was recovered.

Louis and Elaine

1/5

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