Sainte-Chapelle is open 9 am to 5 pm every day per Google Maps, and the official site gives the same hours from 1 October to 31 March. In summer, from 1 April to 30 September, the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours stretch to 7 pm. The last entry is 30 minutes before closing. This guide covers the hours by day, the best time to go, how to get there and the rules at the gate. If you want to book, my full comparison of Sainte-Chapelle tickets lists all 10 options with prices.
Sainte-Chapelle Opening Hours
Today, Saturday 7 November 2026, the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours per Google Maps are 9 am to 5 pm. The week looks the same on every day:
Day
Hours per Google Maps
Monday
9 am to 5 pm
Tuesday
9 am to 5 pm
Wednesday
9 am to 5 pm
Thursday
9 am to 5 pm
Friday
9 am to 5 pm
Saturday
9 am to 5 pm
Sunday
9 am to 5 pm
The official Sainte-Chapelle opening hours on the practical-information page are the ones to trust. They are 9 am to 5 pm from 1 October to 31 March and 9 am to 7 pm from 1 April to 30 September, with last access 30 minutes before closing. The monument closes on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Google and the official page agree for the winter period, so for any trip before the end of March the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours are simple: open at nine, last in at 4:30 pm, out by five.
St Chapelle Hours
People who type St Chapelle hours into a search box, looking for the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours, are usually checking one of three things: whether the chapel is open on their day, how late they can arrive and whether a ticket guarantees entry. The answers are the days listed above, 30 minutes before closing and a time slot. The official FAQ says your entry is guaranteed within 30 minutes after the slot you selected, so the slot, not the closing time, is the real deadline. Staff also ask visitors not to arrive before the time printed on the ticket.
Because the chapel sits inside the Palais de Justice, hours can be affected by security measures. The official page notes that the nearby bus stop is sometimes not served and that checks are stepped up at the monument entrance. For the exact Sainte-Chapelle opening hours on your travel date, the official site is the first stop, and the day-by-day Google Maps table above is a good cross-check.
Sainte Chapelle Reviews
Google Maps shows Sainte-Chapelle at 4.6 stars from 50,854 reviews, which puts it among the better-rated sights on the island. On GetYourGuide, the $28 combined ticket with the Conciergerie holds 4.4 stars from 11,020 reviews. The praise in the reviews I read is about the glass, one reviewer writing that the stained glass windows did not disappoint after years of waiting. The complaint is the entrance: queues and security, and a price some find high.
“I had wanted to see the stained glass windows for years and they did not disappoint.”
— GetYourGuide reviewer
I’d treat the entrance complaints as a reason to book a time slot, not as a reason to skip it. The reviewers who booked a reserved time say it was the fastest way in.
Best Time to Visit St Chapelle
The best time to visit St Chapelle is the first slot of the day or the last one, and I can say that from the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours more than from crowd data. The official site publishes no crowd figures, and it only warns that busy periods, such as school holidays and Easter weekend, can mean a very long wait or no entry without a booking. So I’d avoid those dates when I can, and book a slot early if I can’t.
The stained glass is the second reason to think about timing. Open-Meteo’s 2025 weather record for Paris gives sunset times that the winter opening hours barely clear: sunset is at 4:54 pm in December and 5:10 pm in November, against a 5 pm closing. A morning or midday slot is therefore the one that sees real daylight through the windows. In summer the opening hours of Sainte-Chapelle run until 7 pm and the sun sets as late as 9:56 pm in June, so even the last slot is lit.
Month
Sunrise
Sunset
Sunshine hours
Rainy days
January
8:38 am
5:22 pm
2.7
17
February
7:58 am
6:11 pm
5.0
9
March
7:04 am
6:56 pm
8.4
7
April
6:59 am
8:42 pm
11.0
7
May
6:08 am
9:26 pm
10.8
9
June
5:46 am
9:56 pm
12.9
10
July
6:03 am
9:49 pm
12.1
15
August
6:43 am
9:06 pm
11.5
7
September
7:27 am
8:03 pm
8.2
11
October
8:11 am
7:00 pm
6.5
10
November
8:00 am
5:10 pm
4.3
13
December
8:37 am
4:54 pm
3.7
8
Source: Open-Meteo, Paris, 2025. It is a single year, so treat the rainy-day counts as a pattern, not a forecast.
Best Time of Day to Visit Sainte Chapelle
For the best time of day I’d take the first slot after the opening hours begin at nine. The queue for security builds as the day goes on, and you also get the most daylight in the winter months, when the opening hours end at 5 pm. A reviewer of the combined ticket noted the entrance line was long even with a reserved time, which tells me the slot matters more than the hour you pick. The guided visits start at fixed times; the Memories France listing asks you to arrive 15 minutes early for its timed entry.
Sainte-Chapelle and Conciergerie Combined Tickets
★4.4 (11,020 reviews)
24-hour ticket
My pick: If you only want to get in at a set time: chapel plus Conciergerie for $28, 4.4 from 11,020 reviews, non-refundable.
What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say
Included
✓ Sainte-Chapelle entry ticket
✓ Conciergerie entry ticket
Meeting point: You can either start by the Sainte Chapelle or at the Conciergerie, located at 2 Boulevard du Palais, 75001 Paris. You will be required to present your entrance tickets to the monument when you arrive. On weekends, public holidays, and Christmas holidays, and on days without an audience (some Mondays), access to the monuments will need to be via the first address. 8 Bd du Palais, 75001 Paris, France
Duration: 1 day
Cancellation: This activity is non-refundable
“The entrance continues to be quite lengthy to access, but a reserved time is truly the fastest choice.” – GetYourGuide review
I could not find a mass schedule for Sainte-Chapelle. Beyond the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours, the practical-information page and the FAQ on the official site describe a ticketed monument with timed slots and security checks, and I would not plan a visit around a service. The homepage lists events such as a storytelling visit on Sunday 29 November 2026 at 2:15 pm. If you are asking about worship, check the official agenda directly before you travel.
Where Is Sainte Chapelle Located
Sainte-Chapelle is at 10 Boulevard du Palais, 75001 Paris, on the Île de la Cité in the middle of the Seine, within the Palais de Justice. According to Wikipedia, it was part of the medieval Palais de la Cité and was built between 1238 and 1248 for King Louis IX. The nearest metro stop in my data is Cité, about a 3-minute walk. Walking times in this section are my estimates from straight-line distance, multiplied by 1.3 at 4.8 km/h.
How to Get to Sainte-Chapelle
The official page lists RER B or C to Saint-Michel, metro lines 1, 7, 11 and 14 to Châtelet, and metro line 4 to Cité, plus bus lines 21, 24, 27, 38, 58, 81, 85 and 96. Here is how far each is from the chapel by my estimate:
I think Sainte-Chapelle is worth it if you care about medieval glass, and less so if you only want a quick photo. Google Maps rates it 4.6 from 50,854 reviews, and the chapel was built between 1238 and 1248 to house the relics of King Louis IX, according to Wikipedia. I’d allow 30 to 45 minutes, my own estimate, and the $28 combined ticket with the Conciergerie (4.4 from 11,020 reviews) adds a second sight for the same trip. The recurring complaints are the security queue and the price, so the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours and a booked slot matter more than the ticket type. If you would rather have the story told, I compare the guided options on my Sainte-Chapelle tours page.
Sainte Chapelle Dress Code
I could not find a dress code on the official practical-information page, so I cannot call one official. One guided-tour listing I compared says entry is subject to a dress code of modest clothing, no hats and no skirts, which I’d treat as that operator’s wording rather than a rule at the gate. The security rules are stated clearly by the official FAQ: no large bags, helmets, glass bottles or sharp objects. A scarf over the shoulders costs nothing, and it is the safe choice in a chapel that is still a sacred space. Check the listing on your voucher, because the dress code can differ by operator, and keep the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours in mind if you arrive straight from a Notre-Dame visit.
What to Know Before You Go
The official FAQ is blunt about security. The chapel is inside the Palais de Justice, so checks are strict and take time. Sharp objects of any size, glass bottles, aerosols, motorbike helmets, large bags, scooters and skateboards are not allowed, and confiscated items are not returned. There is no cloakroom. Pets are not admitted, except assistance dogs. Strollers must be small and foldable to pass the X-ray machines, and they cannot go up to the upper chapel because the staircase is narrow, so bring a baby carrier.
Time slots matter as much as the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours. Under-18s, visitors with free entry and Museum Pass holders all need a booked slot. The official audio guide costs 4 euros on site in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese. Tickets bought from the official site cannot be exchanged or refunded, and the official staff only handle orders placed on their own ticket page.
Google Maps lists Sainte-Chapelle open 9 am to 5 pm every day. The official site gives 9 am to 5 pm from 1 October to 31 March and 9 am to 7 pm from 1 April to 30 September. Since today is in the winter period, 5 pm is the closing time, and the hours change on 1 April.
What time is the last entry at Sainte-Chapelle?+
The official practical-information page states that the last access to the monument is 30 minutes before closing. In the winter period that means 4:30 pm, and in the summer period 6:30 pm. Your reserved slot matters more than the last entry, because the official FAQ guarantees entry only within 30 minutes of the time you chose.
Is Sainte-Chapelle closed on any days?+
Yes. The official site lists closures on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Google Maps shows no other closing days in its weekly hours. The official page lists no weekly closing day, so the Sainte-Chapelle opening hours run seven days a week outside those three dates.
How long do you need at Sainte-Chapelle?+
I'd allow 30 to 45 minutes inside the chapel, which is my own estimate rather than an official figure. The guided visits I compared run 75 minutes to 2 hours because they include Notre-Dame's exterior. The Conciergerie adds 1 to 1.5 hours per the official FAQ, so a combined visit takes a morning.
Is there a bag storage at Sainte-Chapelle?+
No. The official FAQ says there is no cloakroom or locker, and that large bags, scooters, motorbike helmets, glass bottles and any sharp object are confiscated and not returned. Plan to leave luggage at your hotel before you come, because nothing can be stored on site.
Can you visit Sainte-Chapelle for free?+
Some visitors can. The official site lists free entry for under-18s, for EU nationals aged 18 to 25 and for everyone on the first Sunday of January, February, March, November and December. A time slot must still be booked. The next free Sundays are 6 December 2026 and 3 January 2027.
