Paris offers rare and brief chance to visit Tour St. Jacques
For the next two months, the public has a rare chance to visit the 200-foot-high tower that soars above the medieval church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie in Paris.
The church was built by the wealthy butchers of the nearby Les Halles market between 1509 and 1523, and served as a stop on the pilgrimage route the French faithful followed to Santiago in Spain.
The gargoyled tower is all that remains of the church, which was leveled during the French Revolution in the 18th century.
In 1998 it was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, but it has been closed to the public for much of its 500 years.
The Tour Saint-Jacques offers a dizzying but beautiful 360-degree panorama of the heart of Paris from on high—300 steps high, in fact.
Curators say that even the revolutionaries didn’t have the heart to destroy the magnificent tower, though perhaps they just couldn’t overlook its usefulness as a watchtower to prevent fires.
Thanks to an exceptional permit issued by the city of Paris, a local association has been allowed to organize visits from Friday to Sunday until Sept 15.
The group is hoping the permit will be extended to longer hours next year.
Cheryl
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