Inside
What to see in the royal necropolis of Saint-Denis
A walking order for the choir, the tombs, the crypt and the spire workshop.
Check dates on Viator ↗Suger's choir and ambulatory
Start with the architecture: the east end Abbot Suger rebuilt around 1140 and dedicated in 1144, where ribbed vaults and pointed arches free the walls into a ring of stained-glass chapels. It is widely regarded as the first place these elements came together as Gothic architecture.
The royal tombs
Filling the transept and chevet are more than 70 medieval effigies and taller Renaissance monuments, covered in our royal-tombs guide. Give this part the most time; it's the reason the necropolis is unlike any other church in France.
The crypt
Go down to the crypt, where plain black-marble slabs mark Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette and an ossuary holds remains gathered after the Revolution. It's a quieter, more sombre space than the church above.
The Fabrique de la flèche
Since October 2025, a visitable workshop at the foot of the basilica has let visitors watch craftsmen at work on the rebuilding of the north tower and spire, taken down in 1846–47. The project is expected to take about five years; the workshop is closed on Mondays.