Madeleine: history and sights
Served by: metro lines 8, 12 and 14.
Did you know?
Named after the monumental Madeleine church, built as a Greco-Roman temple on Napoleon's orders. The square is a landmark of luxury Parisian gastronomy, home to century-old fine-food shops, while the church still anchors the grand vista toward the National Assembly.
Anecdote
Intended by Napoleon as a temple glorifying his army, the church was only consecrated for worship in 1842.
Audio guide
La Madeleine: Napoleon's project
The Church of the Madeleine is a Catholic parish church located on the Place de la Madeleine. It is an illustration of the neo-classical architectural style. Designed by Napoleon I as a Greek temple dedicated to the glory of his Grand Army, the project was finally abandoned and the building was almost transformed in 1837 into a railway station before becoming a church in 1845.
Around Madeleine
- Ladurée, 180 m away — A house founded in 1862 on Rue Royale, one of the very first tea salons where women could go unaccompanied, inventor of the Parisian macaron in 1930.
- Église de la Madeleine, 20 m away — A neoclassical church shaped like a Greek temple, completed in 1842, known for its monumental architecture and concerts.
- Fauchon, 70 m away — A luxury food shop founded in 1886, a Parisian institution of fine gastronomy on Place de la Madeleine.
- Place Vendôme, 450 m away — A 17th-century royal square lined with prestigious jewellers, dominated by the Vendôme column erected by Napoleon.