St Sernin Basilica

The ancient Romanesque beauty that is the St Sernin Basilica was once an abbey church dating back to about 1190. In fact, the basilica is the most complete Romanesque building in France. Its unusual eight-sided, five-tiered tower was added in the 13th century and was topped by a spire 200 years later. St Sernin is huge, built of brick and featuring rounded apses and chapels, soaring barrels and rib-vaulted ceilings, as well as a chapel-ringed ambulatory encircling the nave.

The basilica was an important stop for pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela, and it houses the tomb of St Sernin beneath a sumptuous 18th-century canopy.

Practical Info

The Basilique Saint-Sernin is on the northern edge of the Old Quarter of Toulouse. The closest metro stop is Capitole.