Foyer de la Madeleine: the historic community restaurant beneath the Madeleine church

Ever eaten under a church? Now's your chance to try out this unusual experience, under the historic vaults of theMadeleine church, in its community restaurant, where friendly, caring volunteers welcome you for a good hot meal and a good deed! Three large, long rooms house this lively, human activity every lunchtime from Monday to Friday, where good humor and human warmth reign supreme.

A little history! In 1842, the church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine was inaugurated, and Empress Eugénie set up a scheme to help the needy, in conjunction with the parish, by distributing meals. Many young women working in the neighborhood were welcomed to eat in the church's passageways. This work has continued ever since, enabling workers and the isolated to eat in warmth.

The Foyer de la Madeleine association was launched by Canon Jean Popot in 1969, where a team of volunteers come to serve everyone at the table for the affordable price of 13.50 euros per menu, accompanied by a daily membership fee of 4 euros. If you work in the area, you could well become a regular customer and pay the annual membership fee of 10 euros, which is more profitable than a daily fee, especially as the menus change every week.

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Only open between 11.45am and 1.45pm, with no reservations required, this welcoming place offers, by paying for your meal, to enable others who can't afford it to treat themselves to a full lunch. Of course, if you're looking for a gourmet restaurant with particularly refined dishes, there are plenty of other possibilities in the area, as the options here are pretty straightforward.

Couscous, parmigiana, black pudding - a wide range of cuisines are represented over the weeks, for balanced, healthy and nourishing meals, with good food by the way, made by a caterer.

On our visit, we enjoyed a crispy cheese friand for starters, a lightly spiced chickpea curry with sweet potatoes, coconut milk and rice, as well as a plum tart and an excellent yoghurt from a small producer for dessert. And the coffee is complimentary, served by a real character from the institution, Lily, to be enjoyed in a passageway or on a small terrace outside!

A great idea, this social restaurant and these warm moments shared under a magnificent historic monument, but don't hesitate to arrive early to enjoy it, as the place fills up fast!