The Sainte-Chapelle, located within the Palais de Justice complex on the Ile de la Cité, is a Gothic chapel  in the heart of Paris, France. The structure is 36 m (118 ft) long, 17 m (56 ft) wide, and 42.5 m (139 ft) high. Fronted by a two-story porch, the Sainte-Chapelle has the adstrongly vertical proportions of Gothic architecture. The design concentrates on the essentials outside, a sober base and heavy buttresses contrasting with the soaring lightness of the upper parts. The slate roof is dominated by the spire made of cedar, 33 meters (108 ft) high, a masterpiece of finesse, made in the 19th century. The building was classified as an Historic National Monument in 1862.

The Sainte-Chapelle, perceived as a symbol of both religion and royalty, suffered substantial damage as a result of the French Revolution. Its furniture, stalls and choir wall disappeared. Starting in 1837 under the auspices of Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, important restoration work, and by 1868 the Sainte-Chapelle was returned to its previous splendor. While some of the relics are kept in the treasure of Notre-Dame Cathedral and at the National Library today, others were never to be found again.

The upper chapel is brilliant in its Gothic architecture, light, color, and space blend to inspire a sense of harmony between art and religious faith. Architects, sculptors and painters evidently took the greatest care with the interior of the upper chapel. Supported by slender piers, the vaulted ceiling seems to float above splendid stained-glass windows. The lower chapel is devoted to the Virgin Mary, whose statue stands freely next to the central pier of the portal. Low vaulted ceilings rest on fine columns with crocketed capitals, linked by anchor braces made of wood or stone. The walls are decorated with trefoiled arcades and twelve medallions representing the Apostles.

Despite its small and humble exterior above the Palais de Justice buildings, Sainte-Chapelle is among the high points of French High Gothic architecture. The interior gives a a strong sense of weak beauty, created by decreasing the structural supports to a bare minimum to make way for huge extent of exquisite stained glass. Feeling of being enclosed in light and color is the result.