Classical concert · Latin Quarter, Paris
A 65-minute concert by an ensemble and two soloists in a Left Bank church begun in the 1160s.
Under these arches the medieval University of Paris once held its assemblies.
The church at a glance
The building
Written sources place a hospice for travellers and pilgrims without money, with a chapel, on this spot as early as the 6th century. Raiders from the north wrecked the buildings in the 9th.
Monks of the Cluniac priory of Longpont began the church now standing in the 1160s, at the time Notre-Dame was rising across the river. It starts Romanesque and finishes early Gothic.
In the 17th century the nave lost its two western bays and gained a new front. After the Revolution the church served as a salt store, and it returned to worship in 1826.
The Melkite Greek Catholic community received the church in 1889. Its carved wooden iconostasis, made in Damascus, was inaugurated in 1891 and stands where the concert chairs face.
Four pieces to listen for
Four well-loved pieces go with this concert. Programmes shift with the date, so use them to prepare your ears and do not expect a fixed running order.
Two of the four violin concertos of The Four Seasons, published in 1725. Each is paired with a sonnet. Spring has birdsong, streams and a thunderstorm; Summer has the heat, the cuckoo and a storm of hail.
A movement of the Requiem that Mozart left unfinished when he died on 5 December 1791. His manuscript of the Lacrimosa breaks off after the first eight bars; Süssmayr completed it.
The opening aria of the opera Serse, first performed in London on 15 April 1738. Xerxes sings it to a plane tree that shades him. It is popularly called Handel's Largo, though the score says larghetto.
The 13th movement of The Carnival of the Animals, from 1886, first written for cello and two pianos. It was the one movement Saint-Saëns allowed to be played in public in his lifetime.
Your confirmation names the composers for your evening; the exact works can differ.
Inside the nave
A narrow-fronted church on the Left Bank, still a place of worship, with a medieval frame and a Byzantine-rite interior.
Stone, glass and icons
Photographs by independent photographers of the church inside and out. Pictures of the nave show the room as set up on the day, which can differ from your evening.
Which church concert
Each card opens its own calendar on the booking site. Under the cards, a strip lists other things to do around Paris.
A 65-minute concert by an ensemble and two guest soloists inside the medieval Left Bank church. Bought through GetYourGuide, the ticket is refundable until the day before, and the fare can be settled afterwards.
First-time visitors who want one short evening in a single old church among the Latin Quarter's streets.
See dates ↗A 75-minute concert by the Hélios orchestra in whichever church you pick: Saint-Germain-des-Prés, La Madeleine or Saint-Sulpice. The ticket bars food and drink inside and asks you to turn up well ahead of the start.
Travellers for whom a certain church, or a certain programme, matters more than this one.
See dates ↗Check dates and open seats for the Saint-Julien concert ↗
More to do in Paris
Before you go
The church is at 1 Rue Saint-Julien le Pauvre, 75005 Paris, on the Left Bank across the river from Notre-Dame. The Saint-Michel metro and RER station is the nearest big interchange.
Start times differ by date. Check the calendar, then match it against your confirmation.
Programmes change with the date. Your confirmation names the composers for your evening, though individual pieces can differ.
Dress for a church in the evening and bring a layer: it is an old stone building, and the temperature inside follows the season.
The concert is flagged as wheelchair accessible. The city's own page for the church adds that the two entrance steps need a removable ramp, and asks visitors to get in touch with the church first.
The church stands in the Latin Quarter, where many restaurants of the old kind are open in the evening. The riverside square beside the church looks across to Notre-Dame.
Notes on the church, the music and the evening
Tickets, programme and the date How the 65-minute classical concert in Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre works: what the ticket covers, how to pick a date, and who it suits.
Read the guide → The church, its history and a visit Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre in Paris: how it grew from a pilgrims' hospice to a Melkite church, what to look at inside, and how to visit.
Read the guide →FAQ
Booking details give the concert as 65 minutes. Start times are set date by date and repeated in your confirmation.
The Ensemble Royal plays with two guest soloists. Line-up and programme can both change from one date to the next, so no named player can be promised.
The programme draws on familiar classical pieces. Those named for it include Vivaldi's Spring and Summer, Mozart's Lacrimosa, Handel's Largo from Xerxes and Saint-Saëns's The Swan, though the programme varies by date.
Yes. The Melkite Greek Catholic community has used it as its Paris parish church since 1889, following the Byzantine rite, and the concert is held in the same nave.
No. The ticket pays for the concert only, and a church is no place for a meal. Restaurants in the surrounding Latin Quarter stay open in the evening.
Yes. Bought through GetYourGuide, the ticket is refundable in full until the day before the start, and payment can wait until later.
Access is flagged as step-free for wheelchairs. The city's page for the church says a removable ramp covers the two entrance steps and asks visitors to contact the church in advance.
That depends on what you want. Saint-Julien suits a short concert in a medieval church; the other card on this page lets you pick one of three different churches.
Fares shown are per person; the booking page totals them in the currency you pick.