The interior is noted for its frescoes on the domed ceiling, and monumental sculptures by François Rude, Carlo Marochetti and other prominent 19th-century French artists.

[5] The exterior and interior of the church are undergoing a major project of cleaning and restoration, which began in 2020 and is scheduled for completion in 2024.

An earlier church of Saint-Marie-Madeleine was built in the 13th century on avenue Malesherbes, but was considered too small for the growing neighbourhood.

The construction of the new church was abruptly halted in 1789 by the French Revolution, with only the foundations and grand classical portico completed.

The King's body was thrown onto bed of quicklime at the bottom of a pit and covered by one of earth, the whole being firmly and thoroughly tamped down.

The new building of the National Assembly, in the Palais Bourbon, at the other end of the former Rue Royale, was given a classical colonnade to match the already completed portico of church.

However, this idea was dropped, and the new church was instead dedication to Mary Magdalene, or the Madeleine, a follower of Jesus who witnessed both the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ.

The design chosen was The Last Judgment, depicting Saint Mary Magdalene kneeling to pray for sinners, by Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire.

[18] The design of the church by Vignon was an example of the Neo-Classical style, using the plan of a peripteral Greek temple, with rows of classical columns around all four exterior sides, not just on the facade.

The Madeleine is one of the rare large neo-classical buildings to imitate the whole external form of an ancient temple, rather than just the portico front.

The inscription on the frieze over the entrance reads in Latin: D⸱O⸱M⸱SVB⸱INVOC⸱S⸱M⸱MAGDALENAE, that is Deo Optimo Maximo sub invocatione Sanctae Mariae Magdalenae ("To God all-powerful and Very Great, under the invocation of Saint Mary Magdalen.")

The doors earned Triqueti a place as a royal sculptor for the projects of King Louis-Philippe, including sculpture in Napoleon's tomb.

[20] Another feature of the exterior is a series of statues of Saints, made by different sculptors, alternating women and men, arranged on the outside walls along the portico, within the colonnade.

The original plan by Vignon had only bare walls on the exterior, but the new architect, Huvé, proposed a series of thirty-three statues in niches.

At the north or rear end of the church, the heads of four of the statues were knocked off by the explosion of a German shell during the First World War, in 1918.

All the walls and arches and the ceiling are covered with decoration, largely composed of colored marble in intricate geometric forms, and frequently gilded.

[22] The cul-de-four or half-dome over the choir of the church is decorated with a painting by Jules-Claude Ziegler (1804–1856) which depicts major events in the history of Christianity, with an emphasis on France.

[23] Below the History of Christianity and above the altar is later, unusual work; a wide ceramic mosaic depicting Christ with a group of Saints who had connections with France.

Rude was already famous for a work he made in 1836, "The Departure of the Volunteers of 1795", prominently featured on the Arc de Triomphe.

Typical of various foyers run by religious and civic groups throughout France, the Madeleine is the home of a restaurant in which, for a yearly subscription fee, one can dine under the vaulted ceilings on a three-course French meal served by volunteers for a nominal price.