I always find refuge not only in my faith, but in the enormous beauty of churches. Combine that with the sweetness of classical music that resonates off those old stones, and I find transformative moments of joy!
Paris has an ongoing smorgasbord of concerts in her magnificent churches and chapels; a fair amount paying, but surprisingly many others free! Few tourists are aware of these musical events in magnificent settings.
I have been having a re-immersion of sorts, if you want to call it that in attending a flurry of free classical concerts this past week, that began even before Fete de la Musique last tuesday night.
These concerts are listed as either gratuit(free) or libre participation(free or donation). The majority are young musicians, who are marvelously talented and full of passionate zeal for playing.
Sunday, a week ago I attended a wonderful instrumental group of spirited and very talented musicians and singers, Les Muses Galantes, playing Haydn and Bach, in the very pretty church of Saint Ambroise in the 11 arrondissement.
Paris has a plethora of beautiful churches, some small and some of such a grand scale that they rival Notre Dame.
One of them is Saint Eustache in the Les Halles district, where free organ recitals are given on Sunday afternoons. 
Saint Eustache is a hidden jewel mostly off tourist radars, which is fine with me, who appreciates the sweet silence difficult to find in Notre Dame. It is an absolutely magnificent cathedral with its gothic Renaissance arches and vaults that are taller than Notre Dame, with a spectacular organ!
Built in 1532 as an expansion of the ancient church dating back to 1223, it has undergone periodic reconstruction. It has wonderful rose windows, marvelous paintings and the biggest pipe organ in all of France.
It was where king Louis XIV made his first communion, and Richelieu, Moliere and Madame de Pompadour were baptised.
The organ, reconstructed in 1879, has more pipes than Notre Dame, but is fragile and in need of costly maintenance to keep her monumental steel pipes vibrating, so donations derived from concerts are used for such needs.
There are even some curiosities, such as a sundial over a rose window and a meridian that indicates quarter hours between 11 am and 1 pm. I like the energy there and find the church more illuminated inside than Notre Dame.
36 Hours at Saint Eustache is a very popular annual festival started by their parish priest 11 years ago. Reinterpreted sacred music performed by pop, blues or rock musicians, with a few classical groups thrown in for good measure and balance, goes on no-stop throughout the night, till Fête de la Musique.
I made it to the first performance of the Mozart Conservatoire last Monday enjoying the opening classical pianist, but left to find solitude and prayer in the beautiful Chapelle de la Vierge in back of this massive church, when improvised lyrics fell discordant to my ears.
Yesterday I returned to Saint Eustache to hear one of the most talented young organists in France, Baptiste Florian Marle Ouvrard play not only in concert but during the Mass that followed.
The resonating vibrations of music literally could be felt bouncing off those massive stone pillars as I sat close to the huge steel pipes above.
The small wicker cane seats and kneelers retain a look of yesterday, along with the pitted stone floor. Engraved in marble was a memorial to their earliest priests, dating back to 1223.
The Chapel de la Vierge has one of the prettiest statues of Saint Mary with Jesus and is classified as a historical treasure.
Prior to that I went to one of my favorite smaller churches for free classical concerts, Saint Merri on the ancient cobblestones of Rue Saint Martin.
Much smaller in scale but with lovely acoustics, concerts take part on Saturday nights at 8pm and 4pm Sunday afternoons. Built around 1500, it has a very curious design on the pocked uneven floor.
Flanking its northern facade is the most whimsical Stravinsky Fountains that I love to watch spraying water from the huge red lips in addition to the 15 other brightly coloured statuettes spewing and turning nonconcordinately.
The Eglise Saint Magdalene, encircled by 52 majestic Greek columns, seen in the photo lit up in Christmas colours, was conceived by Napoleon to be a masonic temple and later dedicated as a church in 1835. 
Looking like the Parthenon on the outside, the lovely focal point once inside is the magnificent statue of Mary Magdalene.
They too offer free classical concerts on Sunday afternoons; so basically you have pick and choose options depending on your mood and tastes.
Another great little known wonder about this church is they serve a 3 course lunch on weekdays for a very modest sum. There you can mingle with the many well heeled business people who work in this expensive neighborhood eating in the softly lit vaulted ceiling, underneath the actual church.
Many parish churches throughout the city offer free concerts as well, including my own periodically, but those may be more difficult to find out about.
Other grand churches that offer free concerts, some during the weekdays are Saint Roch and La Trinité.
Notre Dame de Paris has free organ concerts on Saturdays at 8pm, and of course the majestic organ music is always impressive to hear before and during masses held in the main nef of the church.
The cosiest church to hold classical piano concerts is Saint Ephrem, which is an Eastern Rite Armenian Catholic church located in the 5th arrondissement.
These are paying, but modest, and certainly well worth money spent for the marvelous acoustics and candlelight performances.
The oldest medieval church of Paris, Saint Julien du Pauvre, whose origins date back to the 6 century, lies just across the Seine from Notre Dame. There are always multiple paying concerts held throughout the year.
Last but not least is the breathtaking Sainte Chapelle, seen in the first photo, and adjoining one. It was built as the private royal chapel for king Louis IX and to house the Crown of Thorns, now in Notre Dame de paris.
The exquisite stained glass windows from the 13 century are considered to be the most beautiful in the world and best seen during the day.
There is always a line waiting to get inside the dazzling chapel, for the resplendent awe it offers. It can be seen for free on first Sundays of the month from November 1 to march 31.
They too have wonderful concerts, many candlelight, but the ticket prices are hefty. Last year, I was treated by two very sweet and generous friends from Baton Rouge to a candlelight performance in this sublime beauty.
All of this makes for just another reason to love living in this endearing beautiful city, where cultural events and artistic masterpieces are open to all to marvel and delight.
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Cherry, I would think that that would be an awesome, joyful feeling to be in these history rich churches and chapels listening to music resonate off those old stones ,as music is so good for your soul.
I would also think that a lot of divine energy could be felt there In these old Churches
HUGS TO YOU
Indeed it is Isham! For me, there is a sense of mysticism that has a certain sweetness, that is unexplainable in words. Those old stones are porous of all the many faithful who come in love, prayers, praise and hope. The Divine presence is a tangible feeling for those sensitive to such things. Certainly we can feel it also in nature as well! Hugs