Sainte- Chapelle & Conciergerie are great experiences to add to your to do list in Paris. It was an great experience. The stairs of Sainte- Chapelle are very narrow. It is quite a challenge when traveling with kids thru those narrow stairs. I bought a bottle of wine at the Conciergerie and took it to Sainte- Chapelle. All visitors are subject to be x-rayed their belongs. The security almost refused my entry because of the bottle. It is a little bit awkward because I had to show the security the receipt that I bought the bottle at the store at the Conciergerie. Even then they almost refused me entry. Luckily there was a lady who spoke English and I asked her why would they let the Conciergerie sell bottles of wine while you cannot take them with you in the Sainte- Chapelle. She understood my point of view and let me in with the bottle.

The Saint Chapelle is stunning! You first enter on the ground floor with a beautiful ceiling and arched roof. Using the spiral staircase to the second floor was tiring but so very worth it as the top chapel is amazing with its stained glass windows. Lovely to sit and look at the detail. There was ongoing restoration work until around Oct 2022 but that didn’t limit the visit which took less than 1 hour for the chapel tour. Our joint ticket gave access to the Conciergerie. This is a separate part of the building which can be accessed after exiting Saint Chapelle. The Conciergerie was great with the use of an interactive tablet displaying what the building was used for and what it looked like hundreds of years ago. There was security at each building entrance and a small queue which went in quickly (around 10 mins). For us, the whole visit took 2.5hours at a leisurely pace (including gift shop).

Timed ticket worked out fine. Two lines one for on the hour and one for on the 1/2 hour. This prevents intermingling. Much Bentham waiting in line to by ticket. Nice cafe across the street to get a coffee and use restroom. Public restroom on the site of the chapel was filthy with many facilities out of order.