Temple Trips: November 2024

Paris France Temple
My 62nd Temple

The Paris France temple is located at 46 Boulevard Saint Antoine, 78150 Le Chesnay, France. It was dedicated in 2017. I went to the Paris temple for the first time in November of 2024. It had just snowed that day - something that they seemed to not be used to, since they didn't shovel it except in small areas and not a direct path. We stayed in temple housing, which is right next to the temple and shares the same covered parking garage. The first night we were there I tried to go outside to take photos of the temple, but I was stopped by a security guard. He didn't want me to slip on the snow and insisted that I come back inside. If I'd known how to speak French I could have told the security guard that snow is the norm back home, and there was no need to be so worried.

Patron housing is a great deal if you are attending the temple in Paris. You can reserve housing by calling the temple directly. It is meant to be for members of the stakes in the temple district, so they will probably not allow you to reserve housing until a couple weeks before you need it. It only costs about forty euro a night for a room. The rooms have bunkbeds, a table and chairs, and lockers/cabinets to keep clothes in. They give you new sheets and towels, and each patron staying there needs to clean up their room in the morning. Check out is at nine, so if your temple appointment is later there are common areas to hang out in the housing that aren't the individual rooms.

We did initiatories one day and sealings the next day. Both were in French, although the workers did try to speak English for us. I really enjoyed hearing the French, though. My favorite thing about the temple is the painting of an arch just inside the side door. I asked a worker where the arch is and she told me it's in Normandy. I also love all of the stained glass. The beauty of the interior of the temple is very similar to the Payson Utah temple. I love the furniture and the glass windows. The housing is very nice as well.

the underground parking for the temple and temple housing

The Christus on the temple grounds

Freshly fallen snow on the beautiful flowers

One of the common areas in temple housing

one of the paintings in temple patron housing

another painting in temple patron housing

one of the bedrooms in temple housing

The temple at night

When Visiting Paris

Obviously the Eiffel Tower is a must-see when visiting Paris. There are some other must-see places in Paris and Versailles as well.

In the evening hours for five minutes on each hour the Eiffel Tower sparkles. It is definitely worth seeing at night. You can purchase tickets to ride the elevator to the top. We bought tickets to go to the top, but on the day we visited it was very cold and windy, so the top was closed. We rode the elevator to the second level, which was plenty high for us. Some people purchased tickets to climb the stairs to the first level. I would have found that terrifying - being able to see down the entire time as I was climbing the stairs. A sign said that it takes 10 minutes to walk the stairs.

The Arc de Triomphe - We paid to visit the top of the arch. We climbed 284 steps up a windy staircase to get to the top, but it was worth it! The views of Paris are great from up there.

Cathedral of Notre Dame - at the time of our visit the Cathedral was still under construction and not able to be visited yet. We just took photos from the outside.

The Louvre Museum - purchase your tickets ahead of time and allow many hours to make it through the Louvre Museum. The Denon wing is where the Mona Lisa and many other famous works of art are on display.

The Palace of Versailles - The Palace is actually only about 5 minutes away from the Paris Temple. There is plenty of parking at the palace, but be sure you get your tickets ahead of time. You have to show up within one half hour after your ticket time to be allowed in. The Hall of Mirrors was my favorite part about the palace.

The Hague Netherlands Temple

My 61st Temple

The Hague Netherlands Temple is located at Osylaan 2, 2722 CV Zoetermeer, Netherlands. It was dedicated in 2002. It is about 30 minutes away from the Schiphol Amsterdam airport. I visited this temple for the first time in November of 2024. It was my 61st temple. There was freshly fallen snow on their beautifully manicured flower beds.

The temple is not normally open for baptisms on a Thursday at noon, but when I contacted them via email to tell them that we would be coming from America and landing in Amsterdam at ten am, they agreed to come to the temple so that we could do baptisms at noon. The temple president and and his wife, and the 2nd counselor in the temple presidency and his wife, assisted us in the baptistry. We came straight from the airport and were in our sweats that we had worn on our 9 1/2 hour flight. We went in to the bathrooms just inside the entrance to change into our Sunday clothes. The 2nd counselor said, "all that matters is worthiness, not clothing. You don't need to change clothes just to change again." I thought that was very kind and also very profound.

They treated us like royalty the entire time, including the temple president giving us a spiritual message in the baptistry next to the font, as the eight of us stood in a circle. My husband, son, daughter, and I were each able to perform baptisms for family members who had passed away. I love the beautiful baptismal font in the temple, as well as the stained glass that can be seen from inside and outside. I also love the beautiful artwork in the temple. The president and second counselor talked about how proud they are of their temple, and how much they love knowing most of the people who come to worship there. They mentioned that their temple is small, but I assured them that our own Casper Wyoming temple is even smaller than their temple. They were surprised to hear of smaller temples than theirs.

Perhaps my very favorite thing about this temple was the beautiful flowers covered with a sprinkling of freshly fallen snow.