Tourist Information
After recovering from a serious illness, King Louis XV kept his promise by building a church devoted to the cult of St Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Over the course of the centuries, this building has been used for many different purposes, at times being put to patriotic use, at others to religious use. Under the First Empire, it finally became a necropolis, a repository for the ashes of the Great Men who had left their mark on the history of France. This former church is situated in the Vth arrondissement of Paris, at the heart of the Latin Quarter. The Pantheon is has long been a symbol of Paris. Built well before the Tour Eiffel, it dominated the capital from the top of the St Genevieve hill. This gem of neo-classical architecture today contains 67 tombs and vaults of famous writers, scientists or politicians. Voltaire and Victor Hugo rest here alongside Jean Moulin, Jean Jaurès and Pierre and Marie Curie. To visit this superb monument loaded with history and emotion, take the Metro to Place Monge.
