| South of boulevard Haussmann, almost filling the whole of the place de la Madeleine, looms the somewhat ungainly, oversized edifice of the Église de la Madeleine (M° Madeleine), the parish church of the cream of Parisian high society. Modelled on a Greek classical temple, the church is surrounded by 52 Corinthian columns and fronted by a huge pediment depicting The Last Judgement; its facade is a near mirror image in fact of the Assemblée Nationale, directly opposite, on the far side of the place de la Concorde – a fine vista best appreciated from the top of the Madeleine steps. Originally intended as a monument to Napoleon's army – a plan abandoned after the French were defeated by the Russians in 1812 – the building narrowly escaped being turned into a railway station before finally being consecrated to Mary Magdalene in 1845. Inside, a theatrical stone sculpture of the Magdalene being swept up to heaven by two angels, executed by Charles Marochetti (1805–67), draws your eye to the high altar. The half-dome above is decorated with a fresco by Jules-Claude Ziegler (1804–1856), a student of Ingres; entitled The History of Christianity, it commemorates the concordat signed between the church and state after the end of the Revolution, and shows all the key figures in Christendom, with Napoleon, where else, but centre-stage. The church's interior is otherwise rather dull and gloomy, heavy with gilt-edged marble. If you're lucky, the sombre atmosphere may be broken by the sound of the organ, reckoned to be one of Paris's best – the church is in fact a regular venue for recitals and choral concerts. Illustrious past organists include Saint-Saëns and Fauré, whose famous Requiem was premiered at the Madeleine in 1888 – to be heard here again at the composer's own funeral 36 years later. The rest of the square is given over to nourishment of a rather less spiritual nature in the form of Paris's top gourmet food stores Fauchon and Hédiard. Their remarkable displays are a feast for the eyes, and both have salon de thés where you can sample some of their epicurean treats. On the east side of the Madeleine church is one of the city's oldest flower markets dating back to 1832, open every day except Monday, while nearby are what must be Paris's most luxurious public toilets, preserving their original 1905 Art Nouveau décor.
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