Inside the Panthéon

I stood in a short line to get into the Panthéon. Then I had about twenty minutes before the climb up into the dome, so I wandered around a bit and took some photos, as I am wont to do. The place is cavernous, as many of these monumental churches are. It was built in the classical style, completed in the late eighteenth century, and dedicated to the patron saint of Paris, Sainte Geneviève.

The central nave, supported by elaborate corinthian columns.

The building is no longer a church, but serves as a mausoleum where the bodies of the great men, and now women, of France lie. From Voltaire to Pierre and Marie Curie, noted authors, scientists, and men of state are honored here.

The columns are massive.

I had just the right amount of time to wander around before we gathered for our climb up into the dome.