Panthéon Paris

History

King Louis XV commissioned the building in 1755 as a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, after recovering from a serious illness he attributed to her intercession. Architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot designed it in the neoclassical style, drawing on ancient Roman and Greek temples, with a dome inspired by St Paul's Cathedral in London and the Panthéon in Rome. Construction dragged on for decades and wasn't finished until 1790, after Soufflot's death, with his student Jean-Baptiste Rondelet completing the project.

By the time construction finished, the French Revolution had already begun, and the new government secularized the building in 1791, converting it into a mausoleum for France's great citizens rather than a working church. It has switched back and forth between church and secular mausoleum several times since, depending on the political regime in power, before settling permanently into its current role as a national pantheon in 1885, the year Victor Hugo was buried there.

In the building's basement, physicist Léon Foucault installed his famous pendulum in 1851, using it to demonstrate the Earth's rotation in a public experiment inside the dome. A pendulum still swings there today. The Panthéon holds the remains of over 80 people, selected by the French state as a posthumous honor, including scientists, writers, and political figures; women remain a small minority among them, though Marie Curie, Simone Veil, and a handful of others are interred there.

Opening Hours & Wait Times

The Panthéon is open every day. It's closed on 1 January, 1 May, and 25 December, and closes early at 5:00 PM (last entry 4:15 PM) on 24 and 31 December. On the first working Monday of each month, it opens later, at 12:00 PM. Last admission is otherwise 45 minutes before closing.

1 November – 31 March:

1 April – 31 October:

The dome panorama is currently closed for restoration work, with no announced reopening date. Standard admission still covers the nave, the crypt, and the Foucault pendulum as normal; only the rooftop colonnade climb is affected.

Tickets & Prices

Standard admission covers the nave, the crypt, the Foucault pendulum, and any current temporary exhibitions. The dome panorama is currently closed for restoration and isn't sold as a ticket at the moment. Prices differ by season, and Wednesdays during high season are cheaper but exclude the temporary exhibitions.

1 November – 31 March:

1 April – 31 October:

The monument is also free for everyone on the first Sunday of January, February, March, November, and December.

Combined ticket with Basilica of Saint-Denis:

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Tickets for the Panthéon can be bought at the on-site counter or online in advance.

Getting There

There's no metro station directly at the Panthéon, but Cardinal Lemoine is about a 5-minute walk away.

Address: Place du Panthéon, 75005 Paris, France

Highlights of the Panthéon

Good to Know

A full visit, covering the main hall, crypt, and pendulum, takes about an hour. Add the dome climb during the April–September season and you're closer to 1.5 hours, since dome access runs on fixed guided time slots rather than free access.

The Panthéon sits right next to the Jardin du Luxembourg and a short walk from Notre-Dame, making it easy to combine with a broader Latin Quarter walk. Early morning or late afternoon visits tend to be calmest.

Photo Gallery

Frequently Asked Questions