Panthéon

What makes it special

Under the central dome hangs Foucault's pendulum, a brass and lead ball on a 67 m wire. When it is swinging, the line it traces turns slowly and comes full circle in just under 32 hours, because the floor turns with the earth beneath it. Léon Foucault first showed the experiment here in 1851, and the one hanging now is an exact copy.

Look up from the pendulum into the dome. The painting at its centre is the Apotheosis of Saint Genevieve, the saint the church was built for.

The building began as a church and is now a mausoleum for France's great citizens, where burial is still strictly limited. The crypt holds Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Jean Moulin and Louis Braille. Find Braille's tomb: it is the only one with an explanation in Braille.

Visiting

Two levels make up the visit, the nave under the dome and the crypt beneath it, and you walk both on your own. If the pendulum at the crossing is swinging, note which way it moves, because you can check it again on the way out.

Walk the side bays of the nave, where paintings and sculpture honour France's revolutionary history. A stairway behind the National Convention monument then leads down to the crypt, whose modest, quiet hallways open onto small rooms of a few tombs each. Touchscreens in the hallways tell each person's story, with English text.

Keep your voice down in the crypt, which is meant to be a silent visit, though it gets chatty when crowded. Then climb back to the nave and look at the pendulum again before you leave.

Guided or on your own

Monument staff lead a visit at 2pm or 3pm, depending on availability; ask at the entrance what language it runs in. Themed tours on women and on science run on reservation, as does a general tour in French and English. A guide suits you if you want the stories behind the crypt's names; go on your own if you mainly want the pendulum and the dome.

Tips

Bring only a standard backpack, since there is no cloakroom or locker and nothing larger is accepted.

Leave tripods, drones, helmets, scooters and their batteries at home, along with food and drink. Weekends and high season are the busiest times, and entry is free on the first Sunday of January, February, March, November and December.