Église de la Madeleine owes its existence to France's last kings and to its first emperor — but few churches in Paris have had such a stormy history. When Place Louis XV (known today as Place de la Concorde) was built in 1755, a suitable monument was needed at the north end of Rue Royale — where there was a slight hill perfectly viewed from the place. Therefore, in 1764, under the auspices of Louis XV, an architect drew up plans based on the domed church of Les Invalides. But, that architect died in 1777, with the church barely started.

A Fresh Start in the 1780s

The execution of Louis XVI, on the place built by his predecessor

The architect who took over, a student of the former, decided to start anew, and razed what had already been built, starting with an empty piece of land. The idea now was that the new church should resemble the Panthéon. The new work proceeded slowly so that by 1789 only the foundations had been completed — just in time for the French Revolution.

La Madeleine – Back to Square One with Napoleon

Historic photo of Église de la Madeleine, 50 years after completion

The French Revolution — Revolters. Church-destroyers. Burning. Riots. Swimming Pools. Movie Stars…

We know we're wrong about that last part. But, during the revolution most churches became warehouses or "Temples to Reason" or things like that. So, worked stopped on the new church at the top of Rue Royale. Even after Napoleon Bonaparte came to power, the site sat dormant while various projects were considered. Use of the site was debated; a library and a market were suggested. But in 1806 Napoleon, by then emperor, decreed that a memorial to the Grand Army would be built on the site, modeled on Greek temples of antiquity.

So, once again the site was cleared back down to earth and a new structure was begun. However, work was not completed while Napoleon reigned and it was his successor, Louis XVIII, the restoration monarch, who declared that the building would be completed and become a church dedicated to Mary Magdalene. In the tradition of the grand churches of Paris, it had taken nearly a century from initial planning in the 1750s to completion in 1842. (Even so, during that period, in 1837, the site was nearly selected for use as the city's first railway terminal!)

Classical Music at La Madeleine

Today, La Madeleine is a wonderful venue for classical music

Today masses and other services are held at La Madeleine, but just as interesting are the classical music concerts performed at here on a occasional basis. Luckily, it's easy to discover what will be playing and to reserve your tickets in advance.

Place de la Madeleine

Flower merchant on Place de la Madeleine, photo Ville de Paris

The church sits in the middle of a grand place that shares its name. Place de la Madeleine was long one of the centers for gourmet food in Paris, having been the location of speciality food merchants Hediard, Fauchon, as well as caviar specialists Prunier and Caviar Kaspia, truffle experts La Maison de la Truffe, and the Maille mustard boutique. But, as years have gone by, the two large gourmet grocers have gone. Meanwhile, the place became known for something not as pleasant — a huge amount of automobile traffic circling the church.

Place de la Madeleine réaménagé, photo Ville de Paris

Thankfully, in 2019 Place de la Madeleine was renovated to make it a more human-scale space. The French word for this, réaménagé, means "redeveloped", but it has a happy ring of reimagined about it. The pedestrian space has been vastly enlarged, with 4,500 m² of area returned to walkers and strollers. There are more trees, new benches, and expanded bicycle facilities. And, the amount of space dedicated to automobile traffic has been reduced.