Église Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs

Paris (3e arrondissement)

The patronage of Saint Nicholas in Paris dates from the wave that follows the translation to Bari: a bull of Pope Calixtus II mentions in 1119 a "capella Sancti Nicholai" near the monastery of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, and other bulls, in 1142, 1147 and 1184, confirm that the prior of Saint-Martin appoints the priest there. At the end of the 11th century the saint's cult spread through the whole of Christendom, and with it a great number of hospitals and leper houses placed under his protection: the market town that grew up here, outside the walls, entered into that movement. The church one sees is entirely later. It was built in five campaigns, from about 1420 to 1620, which makes it a manual of Parisian flamboyant Gothic; the nave was lengthened by four bays between 1576 and 1586, and there was then raised, in 1581, a south portal copied from an engraving published in 1567 by Philibert Delorme in his Premier tome de l'Architecture — a festival triumphal arch turned into a church door. The building has been classified since 1887.

Wikipédia — Église Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs de Paris ↗

Getting there : 254 rue Saint-Martin, Paris 3rd; métro Arts-et-Métiers or Réaumur-Sébastopol. Parish church open every day, free entry; on Sunday it sometimes closes at the beginning of the afternoon. The south portal, restored in 2020-2021, can be seen from the street that runs along the flank of the building; the gallery organ and the wall paintings are looked at from the nave.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound