St. Sulpice is known as the “Cathedral of the Rive Gauche” Construction was begun in 1645 and it was mostly complete one hundred years later in 1745. The west front Baroque façade was designed by Florentine architect Giovanni Servadoni. It has a somewhat lopsided appearance due to the fact that the south tower was never finished and therefore the towers are different heights.
During the revolution, St. Sulpice was damaged and turned into the Temple of Victory, but in the 19th century, it was restored and redecorated with the help of the artist Eugene Delacroix. His paintings grace the “Chapel of Angels” on the right side of the entrance.
The church is also the location of a chapter in the book “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown, so you can look for the “Rose Line”, the “Obelisk” and other myths proposed by the book.
While these fictional stories are fun to follow, the church was the scene of real historical occasions, such as the baptism of the Marquis de Sade and the marriage of Victor Hugo. Also, the “Rose Line” is actually an 18th century astrological device. The sun's rays enter the church through a small opening in the south transept and rest on the line at various points throughout the year. On the winter solstice, the rays hit the obelisk; on the spring and autumn equinoxes, the bronze table. One of its uses was to calculate Easter each year.
The Jardin du Luxemburg is a combination of Italian, French and English garden styles. It was originally designed for Marie de Medici, widow of King Henry IV and regent for King Louis XIII in 1612 as part of the gardens for the Palace she built in 1611. The palace was to be a replica of the Pitti Palace in her native Florence and it still exists today along with her Italian Fountain, and the garden was designed to remind her of her beloved Florentine gardens. Marie de Medici planted 2000 Elm trees and later in 1630 purchased more land to expand the gardens in the new more formal style of Versailles.
The gardens were neglected by later royalty, but after the French revolution, the Directory restored the gardens for the people and later after the temporary restoration of the Monarchy in 1848 and through the 1880’s and 90’s, most of the statues were added as monuments to great artists and writers and the English Garden was added. It is a wonderful park. If you need a place to just rest and enjoy a quiet moment in Paris, head to the Jardin du Luxemburg.