Interior of Saint-Remi Basilica in Reims, Champagne, France.

© CAHKT/Getty Images/iStock

Basilique St-Rémi

Reims


This 121m-long former Benedictine abbey church, a Unesco World Heritage Site, mixes Romanesque elements from the mid-11th century (the worn but stunning nave and transept) with early Gothic features from the latter half of the 12th century (the choir, with a large triforium gallery and, way up top, tiny clerestory windows). Next door is the Musée St-Rémi.

The abbey church is named in honour of Bishop Remigius, who baptised Clovis and 3000 Frankish warriors in 498. The 12th-century-style chandelier has 96 candles, one for each year of the life of St Rémi, whose tomb (in the choir) is marked by a mausoleum from the mid-1600s.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Reims attractions

1. Musée St-Rémi

0.02 MILES

Housed in a 17th- and 18th-century abbey, this museum homes in on local Gallo-Roman archaeology, 16th-century Flemish tapestries, medieval sculpture and…

2. Bibliothèque

0.73 MILES

Thanks to a donation from the US-based Carnegie Foundation, the lobby of the Bibliothèque boasts gorgeous 1920s mosaics, stained glass, frescos and an…

3. Palais du Tau

0.76 MILES

A Unesco World Heritage Site, this lavish former archbishop’s residence, redesigned in neoclassical style between 1671 and 1710, was where French princes…

4. Cathédrale Notre Dame

0.81 MILES

Imagine the extravagance of a French royal coronation. The focal point of such pomposity was Reims’ resplendent Gothic cathedral, begun in 1211 on a site…

5. Musée des Beaux-Arts

0.82 MILES

Lodged in an 18th-century abbey, this museum's rich collection stars one of four versions of Jacques-Louis David’s world-famous The Death of Marat (yes,…

6. Joan of Arc Statue

0.83 MILES

A strangely expressionless statue of Joan of Arc, raised high on a rearing horse and bearing a sword, graces this square facing the cathedral. The so…

7. Église St-Jacques

0.94 MILES

The 12th- to 14th-century Église St-Jacques, the city’s only remaining medieval parish church, has some 1960s stained glass that’s so awful it has to be…

8. Cryptoportique

0.99 MILES

One of Reims' Roman standouts, the below-street-level Cryptoportique is thought to have been used for grain storage in the 3rd century AD.

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