With its giant stained glass windows restored to mark the centenary of its construction (in reinforced concrete by the Perret brothers), the church of Notre-Dame de la Consolation, which is in the Parisian suburb of Le Raincy (17 minutes from Gare du Nord), is worth making the effort to see.

It’s an astonishing building for a number of reasons, and one that’s sure to set your Instagram feed on fire fire🔥🔥

We’re guessing you’ve never seen anything like it…

Paris has a lot of really gorgeous churches to visit, many of which are near our hotels – we’ve already shown you the église Saint-Séverin (the oldest on the Left Bank), Notre-Dame-du-Travail and its extraordinary metal structure, and of cours the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, freshly restored – but sometimes something exceptional makes going a little further worth the effort.

If you want to see something that many visitors to the city don’t, this would be a great choice.

Le Raincy is a well-to-do suburb 8km to the east of Paris. It’s easy to get to via the RER train line E, and overground P line, both of which take less then 20 minutes to get there from Gare du Nord. The Notre-Dame de la Consolation church is just a ten-minute walk from the station, almost directly north on avenue de la Résistance.

You’ll see the tall bell tower from way off, and there are also a few pretty buildings along the way (like the old post office and telephone exchange). When you arrive in front of the church, you’ll definitely be impressed by the size of it, and check out the bas-relief above the entrance, which is the work of a certain Antoine Bourdelle, whose workshops (and now museum) is an essential visit just minutes away from our hotels.

The church has just celebrated its centenary by restoring the bell tower and stained glass windows. Also known sometimes as the Sainte-Chapelle of reinforced concrete, it was constructed in 1922-1923 by the Perret brothers, who also designed incredible Parisian buildings including the Théâtre du Champs-Élysées and Palais d’Iéna.

The Perret brothers were specialised in using (what was then a new material) reinforced concrete, and the church at Le Raincy was the very first to use it for the entire building, allowing for huge open spaces inside with only a minimum of columns.

It’s now classed an historic monument, and the feeling of space inside is reinforced by the immense, colourful stained glass windows designed by artist Marguerite Huré, each ensemble featuring a different scene from the life of the Virgin Mary. The colours used are cold at the entrance and evolve into warmer shades as you advance towards the altar, deliberately contrasting with the rough grey concrete.

If you know Saint Joseph’s church in Le Havre, another of Auguste Perret’s grand projects, you’ll recognise a lot of shared features.

Near the raised altar you’ll find steps leading down to a small half-basement chapel with more modest stained glass windows, and the view coming back into the church’s main space feels even more impressive.

The place is amazing (and incidentally, perfect to wow everyone on Instagram).

This unique, stunning piece of architecture is open seven days a week, for free, and if you choose a sunny day to go, the whirlwind of colours from the windows is amazing.

Why not explore Le Raincy while you’re in town? It’s a comfortable, leafy suburb that’s worth exploring!

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The church of Notre-Dame de la Consolation in Le Raincy (here) is open seven days a week from 8am-7pm

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