L'Église du Dôme

This is one of the best-known landmarks in Paris. My mind is still on Paris because I'm planning to go spend a few days there at the end of the month. This building is in the neighborhood where I'll be staying (at my friend CHM's apartment). You recognize the dome, don't you? (And no, it's not San Francisco City Hall, but the two buildings do resemble each other.)

For some reason, I have an old Michelin Green Guide in English (1976 edition). Here's what it says about the "Dome Church": It is one of the masterpieces of the age of Louis XIV (who was the king of France for nearly 75 years in the 17th and early 18th centuries). It was with this building that architects perfected the French Classical style. Work on the church began in 1677 and was completed only in 1735. It is the finest example of 17th century religious architecture, just as the Palace of Versailles is the finest example of the era's civil architecture.

The Dome Church "captures the imagination both by its sweeping lines and its dignity," the Michelin Guide continues. "It has a beauty all its own whether standing out against a clear summer sky, or rising, almost invisibly, against the darkness of the night." I don't know if the church was illuminated back in the 1970s the way it is now. It's been nearly 40 years. The Dome Church is anything but invisible these days. And it is most famous now for being the final resting place of the emperor Napoleon.

My two blurry pictures (c'est le flou artistique) were taken more than 10 years ago, in February 2003. Here's a link to some more recent summertime photos of the same building.