Basilique Saint-Michel de Bordeaux

Bordeaux

On the left bank of the Garonne, in the working-class district that bears its name, the basilica of Saint-Michel has raised since the late 15th century its free-standing spire of 114 metres, the tallest in the region and one of the historic landmarks of Bordeaux. Built in Flamboyant Gothic between 1350 and 1520 thanks to the gifts of merchants and pilgrims bound for Compostela, the church long served as a landmark for the boatmen of the Garonne. But it is its underground that built its legend: from 1791, the gravediggers emptying the parish cemetery discovered, in the vault beneath the tower, dozens of bodies naturally mummified by the dryness and the composition of the limestone soil. Displayed to the public for nearly two centuries, these mummies of Saint-Michel drew illustrious visitors — Victor Hugo in 1843, Théophile Gautier, Gustave Flaubert, Jules Verne — and in 1862 inspired the spiritualist Allan Kardec to carry out troubling experiments around the mummy known as "number 48". The guides of the day peddled the stories of a porter crushed by his load or of a duellist who died sword in hand. Desecrations and thefts led to the closure of the crypt in 1979, then to the transfer of the bodies to the Chartreuse cemetery in 1990. What remains of this strange saga is a majestic basilica and a Bordeaux memory made of fascination and unease.

Getting there : Basilica open for unguided visits, Place Meynard, Saint-Michel district of Bordeaux; spire reopened in June 2026, paid visits from April to October; crypt of the mummies closed in 1979

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound