The towers that don't match
Look up at the facade: the north tower was rebuilt by Chalgrin in the 1770s, the south tower was never finished. Money and the Revolution ran out first.
Urban Tales › Paris › Saint-Sulpice
Saint-Sulpice: the history, and the line on the floor
Paris's second-largest church took more than 130 years to build, has two towers that don't match, and a brass line on the floor that a bestseller made famous. Here's what you're looking at, and what to listen for when you step inside.
Begun1646
Gnomon1740s
MuralsDelacroix, 1861
Towers2, unmatched
Hear the Saint-Sulpice story, in the app's voice
A short preview. The full story plays on its own when you walk up to it with Urban Tales.
Three stories most visitors miss
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2
A sundial on the floor
A brass line crosses the floor to a marble obelisk. Sunlight through a small hole in a window lands on it at noon, which let the priests fix the exact date of the spring equinox, and so of Easter.
3
What the novel got wrong
"The Da Vinci Code" calls the line a pagan "Rose Line". The church put up a notice to set the record straight: it's a scientific instrument from the 18th century, nothing more mysterious.
TipGo in and turn right to the first chapel to see Delacroix's murals, including Jacob wrestling the angel, then follow the brass line across the transept to the obelisk. With Urban Tales running, the church's story plays as you reach the square.
Nearby landmarks
Saint-Sulpice: common questions
What is the line on the floor of Saint-Sulpice?
A gnomon: a brass meridian line installed in the 1740s to measure the sun's position and fix the date of Easter.
Is Saint-Sulpice in The Da Vinci Code?
Yes, but the novel's "Rose Line" story is fiction; the church displays a notice explaining the gnomon's real purpose.
Why are Saint-Sulpice's towers different?
The north tower was rebuilt in the 1770s and the south tower was never completed.