Le Secret des Carmes - guided tour of the Institut Catholique de Paris

Highlights
🌟 Discover a rich and little-known setting in places normally closed to the general public, a unique experience not to be missed!
🕍 Enter the church of Saint Joseph des Carmes and immerse yourself in the tragic history of the French Revolution, a true journey through time
🌳 The location's best-kept secret: an immense garden planted with trees and flowers, invisible from the street, now used as a strolling area for seminarians

General Info
📅 Dates and times: : select your dates/times directly in the ticket selector
⏳ Duration: 1h30 to 2h
📍 Location: : Paris Catholic Institute
👤 Age requirement: all ages welcome
♿ Accessibility: PMR access is available for this tour with the exception of the crypt

Description
The secret of the Carmes is a whole artistic and historical complex, but little known behind its austere and banal facade. This tour allows you to admire a rich and little-known decor in places normally closed to the general public. Entering the church of Saint Joseph des Carmes, inaugurated in 1624, is to better understand the historical and tragic relationship with the French Revolution. The tour also includes several rooms at the back of the church, including the sacristy and the seminarians' chapel. But also the former cloister, now annexed by the Université Catholique de Paris. The former convent has had a long life as a religious home, prison and university. The best-kept secret lies at the back: a huge garden, planted with trees and flowers, invisible from the street. This haven of peace, now used as a place for seminarians to stroll, was the scene of the terrible massacres of September 1792. The other secrets can be seen in the basement: three crypts with very different functions and purposes. They house the tombs of 19th-century Carmelites and the bones of monks massacred during the French Revolution. Finally, the tomb of a beatified layman, still venerated the world over today.