The masterpiece of this flamboyant style lies beyond the Sorbonne, in the shadow of the Pantheon's large dome. It is the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, which began construction in the late 1400s.
It is truly one of the most beautiful churches in the city, but it's not easy to find. It's at the top of the hill of Sainte Geneviève, and is overlooked by colossal buildings and lost in a huge parking lot.
Admire the strange overlapping of load-bearing elements and pediments of its façade, all angles and odd, unexpected curves; it almost looks like an artisan cake decoration, certainly not architecture. The beautiful flamboyant Gothic interior is covered by vaults supported by very high pillars. At the end of the naves two double-turn spiral staircases climb up to support the beautiful sixteenth-century partition wall. Below this partition wall where the deacon invokes the divine blessing and reads the Gospel, admire the elegance of the slender arch, open at the top by a lightly perforated screen.
