This former abbey became a place of pilgrimage when Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris was buried here, after his decapitation by the Romans, in the third century A.D. Enlarged many times, the church is the birthplace of Gothic architecture in France. When king Dagobert decided to be inhumed here, he was followed by the next dynasties of French Kings. It then, became a royal necropolis. Ransacked during the French Revolution, all the tombs were pillaged and bodies placed in mass graves. King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were originally buried close to the Concorde square (called Expiatory Chapel) and were transferred here more than twenty years after their death. Two different guided tours are available : the highlights and a tour about women of Saint Denis. Combine this visit with the Expiatory Chapel in Paris.

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