Chapelle Foujita, Reims

Church in Reims

CC BY-SA 4.0 / Gérald Garitan

Tucked away from the grand, ceremonial scale of Reims Cathedral, the Chapelle Foujita feels personal, almost private-a small chapel created not by an institution or a monarch, but by an artist working through faith and memory. Built in Reims in the 1960s by Tsuguharu Foujita (who took the baptismal name Léonard), it's a rare chance to step into a complete artistic world where the architecture, the decorative details, and the painted programme were all shaped by a single vision.

For travellers who want something beyond the standard cathedral-palace-basilica route, this is one of the things to see in Reims, and it's often visited on walking tours of Reims that focus on the city's 20th-century layers. The chapel is small enough to fit easily into a day, but distinctive enough that it tends to stay in your mind long after you've moved on.

History and Significance of the Chapelle Foujita
Things to See and Do in the Chapelle Foujita
How to Get to the Chapelle Foujita
Practical Tips on Visiting the Chapelle Foujita
Where to Stay close to the Chapelle Foujita
Add a Is the Chapelle Foujita Worth Visiting?
FAQs for Visiting Chapelle Foujita
For Different Travelers
Nearby Attractions to the Chapelle Foujita

History and Significance of the Chapelle Foujita

The chapel's story begins with a turning point. During a visit to the Basilique Saint-Remi, Foujita experienced a spiritual shift that eventually led him to Christianity. His formal conversion and baptism took place in Reims in 1959, where he adopted the name Léonard, signalling a deliberate new chapter in both personal faith and artistic identity.

In 1965, he transformed that inner change into a physical place by building his own chapel in Reims. What makes Chapelle Foujita especially significant is the degree of authorship: Foujita didn't simply paint works to be installed in an existing church. He controlled the whole project, from architectural choices to ironwork and stained-glass designs, and then personally painted the frescoes that define the interior.

The decision to use a Romanesque-inspired style was purposeful. It echoed the calm, rounded language of Saint-Remi and gave him a restrained architectural shell that could support, rather than compete with, the painted imagery. As a result, the chapel sits in an unusual place in Reims’ heritage landscape: it’s modern in date, but it speaks the visual language of older sacred architecture while remaining unmistakably Foujita in spirit.

Things to See and Do in the Chapelle Foujita

The essential experience is simply to step inside and let the scale work on you. Unlike Reims Cathedral, where you're looking up into vastness, here you're drawn into closeness. The chapel's modest dimensions concentrate attention on the frescoes, especially in the choir, where Foujita's painted programme becomes the main event.

Look carefully at how the building frames the artwork. Because Foujita oversaw the chapel’s design details, you can read the space as a unified composition rather than a room filled with separate pieces. Even small features-how light enters, how surfaces are treated, how the decorative elements sit against the wall painting-feel intentional, like parts of one controlled aesthetic.

Give yourself time to absorb the mood rather than treating it as a quick photo stop. The chapel works best when you slow down and let the images unfold scene by scene. If you’ve seen Foujita’s work elsewhere, this visit is especially interesting because it shows his style in a sacred register; if you haven’t, it’s still compelling because it feels like an artist’s personal statement made architectural.

How to Get to the Chapelle Foujita

Most international visitors arrive via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport or Paris Orly Airport, then continue to Reims by train or road connections. For the best deals and a seamless booking experience, check out these flights to Reims on Booking.com.

Reims is easy to reach by train from Paris Gare de l'Est, and once you're in the city you can reach the chapel area by local public transport or taxi depending on where you're staying. You can use SNCF Connect to check schedules, compare routes, and purchase tickets for National (SNCF ) and regional trains (TER). For a more streamlined experience, we recommend using Omio, which allows you to easily compare prices, schedules, and book tickets for both National and Regional travel across all of Europe, all in one place.

If you’re travelling by car, plan on using convenient city parking and finishing the last stretch on foot, as local access can be simpler that way. If you are looking to rent a car in France I recommend having a look at Discover Cars, first, as they compare prices and review multiple car rental agencies for you.

Practical Tips on Visiting the Chapelle Foujita

Suggested tips: Visit after Basilique Saint-Remi so you can feel the visual and emotional link Foujita was responding to, then come here as a quieter, more personal echo.
Best time to visit: Late morning or mid-afternoon on a weekday for a calm, reflective visit without crowds.
Entrance fee: Adults: €5.50
Opening hours: Every day from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Tuesday.
Official website: https://musees-reims.fr/fr/musees/la-chapelle-foujita/
How long to spend: 30-60 minutes, longer if you like taking time with painted details.
Accessibility: As a small chapel site, access can involve steps or narrow approaches; check current step-free arrangements if needed.
Facilities: Limited on site; plan cafés and toilets around the city centre before or after.
Photography tip: If photography is permitted, avoid flash and focus on overall compositions rather than close-ups; the chapel’s impact comes from how the paintings sit in the space.
Guided tours: A guide can add value here by explaining Foujita’s conversion story and the symbolism in the frescoes, but the chapel also works well as a quiet, self-led visit.
Nearby food options: Combine the visit with a meal back in central Reims, where you'll have more choice and a relaxed atmosphere.

Where to Stay close to the Chapelle Foujita

For most visitors, staying in central Reims is still the best strategy, since it keeps the cathedral quarter, restaurants, and transport connections easy, while the chapel remains a manageable trip out. Best Western Premier Hôtel de la Paix is a comfortable central base for mixing major monuments with smaller cultural stops. Holiday Inn Reims - Centre is a practical option if you want straightforward access to the centre and easy onward transport. If you’d like to stay right in the cathedral district for early starts and evening walks, La Caserne Chanzy Hotel & Spa, Autograph Collection keeps you anchored near Reims’ headline sights.

Add a Is the Chapelle Foujita Worth Visiting?

Yes, particularly if you enjoy travel moments that feel intimate and specific to place. Reims is full of monumental history, but Chapelle Foujita offers something rarer: a modern sacred space created as a personal act of faith and artistry, where the “author” is visible in every decision.

It’s also worth visiting for contrast. After the cathedral and coronation sites, this chapel shifts the scale from national spectacle to individual devotion, which can make the rest of Reims’ heritage feel richer and more human when you return to it.

FAQs for Visiting Chapelle Foujita

It was created by Tsuguharu Foujita, the Japanese artist who took the baptismal name Léonard.

Foujita’s conversion to Christianity took place in Reims, and he later chose the city as the site for his personal chapel project.

It was completed in the mid-1960s, as part of Foujita’s artistic and spiritual project.

It is Romanesque-inspired, chosen to echo the atmosphere of Saint-Remi and to provide a calm setting for frescoes.

The frescoes, particularly in the choir, painted by Foujita himself.

Most visitors spend 30-60 minutes.

Yes, because the chapel is small and the experience is direct: architecture, light, and painted storytelling in one space.

Yes, it fits well with a day that includes Basilique Saint-Remi, Musée Saint-Remi, and the cathedral district.

Rules can vary, so check on site; if allowed, avoid flash and be respectful of the space.

It depends on current entry arrangements and any guided access; checking ahead is sensible because opening can be limited.

What Other Travellers Say...

Reviews Summary

4.3 (393)

Foujita Chapel at 33 Rue du Champ de Mars in Reims is a Romanesque chapel designed by Léonard Foujita and funded by René Lalou, consecrated in 1966; visitors praise its unique blend of religious and French–Japanese atmosphere and distinctive artworks, note that staff (frequently mentioned by name) can be exceptionally welcoming and knowledgeable, and warn that opening times are seasonal—closed to the public from October 1 through May 1—so plan your visit accordingly.

Vladimir Raevskiy

5 months ago

"We were incredibly lucky to meet Sandrine -she’s truly the soul of the place. As hospitable as museum staff rarely are, she’s deeply knowledgeableand shares her stories with warmth and absolutely no trace of arrogance. I hope you’ll arrive in time to visit this remarkable spot!..."

See More See Less

นิพัฒน์สิน ยิ้มแย้ม

6 months ago

"This is great chapel for Reims. Please come to visit."

Arisa O

6 years ago

"Mr Fujita, known as a École de Paris’s painter was baptised at Cathédrale Notre Dame de Reims. His artworks are unique, sophisticated and somewhatlovely. Quite interesting to see since its atmosphere is kind of religious and french-Japanese mixed, plus full of hope...."

See More See Less

For Different Travelers

Families with Kids

This chapel can work for families if your children are comfortable with quieter spaces and you keep the visit short. The key is to make it visual: choose one fresco scene to look at together and ask what details they notice first, then move on before the quiet becomes challenging.

Pair it with something more energetic afterward, such as a walk in the park or a lively lunch back in the centre, to balance the day.

Couples & Romantic Getaways

For couples, Chapelle Foujita is one of the most distinctive, reflective visits in Reims. It feels intimate and purposeful, and the fact that it was created as a personal artistic statement gives it a quiet emotional charge that contrasts beautifully with the cathedral's public grandeur.

It's an ideal stop if you like places that feel slightly hidden. Combine it with Saint-Remi in the same outing, then return to central Reims for Champagne and dinner.

Budget Travelers

If your budget is tight, this can still be a worthwhile ticketed stop because it offers something you won’t find elsewhere in the city: a modern chapel designed and painted by a single artist. It’s compact, so you don’t feel you’re paying for “volume,” but rather for uniqueness.

To keep costs down, combine it with free visits to major churches and plenty of walking, then choose one paid museum or cellar tour alongside this visit.

Nearby Attractions to the Chapelle Foujita

Basilique Saint-Remi: A UNESCO basilica with a vast Romanesque nave and the tomb of Saint Rémi.
Musée Saint-Remi: A museum in the former royal abbey that tells Reims' story from Roman times to the Renaissance.
Reims Cathedral: The city's essential Gothic landmark and coronation church, packed with sculpture and stained glass.
Palais du Tau: The archbishops' palace beside the cathedral, tied to coronation lodging and post-ceremony banquets.
Champagne house cellars: Guided cellar visits and tastings that connect Reims' heritage to its signature craft.

The Chapelle Foujita appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Reims!

Moira & Andy

Hey! We're Moira & Andy. From hiking the Camino to trips around Europe in Bert our campervan — we've been traveling together since retirement in 2020!

Read our full story here

This website uses affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you!