Basilique cathédrale de Saint-Denis

Saint-Denis

Built over the tomb of the martyr Saint Denis — who, according to legend, picked up his own severed head and walked several kilometres carrying it in his hands to his burial place — this abbey church was entirely remodelled in the 12th century by Abbot Suger, advisor to kings Louis VI and Louis VII. Its chevet, completed in 1144, officially inaugurates Gothic art: ribbed vaults, flying buttresses and generous stained-glass windows appear together here for the first time. A royal necropolis from the Merovingians to Louis XVIII, it houses the richest collection of medieval funerary sculpture in Europe. On the spot where, according to the Golden Legend, the saint wished to be buried, Saint Geneviève later had a chapel built, the origin of the present basilica.

Getting there : Paid entry for the necropolis, free access to the nave

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

Ambient sound