"I visited the Basilique-Cathédrale de Saint-Denis ladt year and really enjoyed it. The building has an amazing past. What stands today mostly comes from the 12th–13th centuries, when the choir completed in 1144 became the first structure to use all the key elements of Gothic architecture. But the site goes back much further. It began as a shrine built over the tomb of Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, and over time it became a major royal abbey and the burial place of many French kings and queens. After centuries of changes and damage, it was finally restored and recognised again as a cathedral.
Inside, the first thing you notice is the light. The tall stained-glass windows fill the space with colour, and the high arches make everything feel open. The royal necropolis is the highlight for many visitors. It holds more than seventy tombs of French kings and queens, including famous ones such as Dagobert I, Henri II and Catherine de’ Medici, Louis XII and Anne of Brittany, and memorials for Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. The stone sculptures are detailed and give you a clear sense of how people looked and dressed in different centuries.
The main altar stands above the area traditionally linked to the tomb of Saint Denis. Around the altar you see the oldest part of the church, the crypt, where the early history of the basilica began. The choir behind the altar is one of the first examples of true Gothic architecture, and walking around it you notice how the columns and windows were designed to bring in as much light as possible.
There is also plenty to look at as you move through the chapels, including the carved choir stalls, the rose window, and quiet corners with older stonework. I enjoyed taking my time in the ambulatory, where the stained glass changes colour as you walk.
Entry is normally €17 from Tuesday to Sunday and €11 on Mondays. Many visitors can enter for free, including under-18s, people aged 18–25 from the EU or who live in the EU, and disabled visitors with their carers. Audio guides and short free tours are also available.
It’s a peaceful place filled with history and beautiful details, and I left feeling like I had discovered a side of France that many travellers miss."

Przemyslaw Kowalski

"Impressive church and since the 7th century the burial site for nearly every French monarch (43 kings, 32 queens, and other royalty).

It is also the birthplace of Gothic Architecture as in the 12th century (c. 1135–1144), Abbot Suger directed a major renovation in which he incorporated key architectural innovations like the pointed arch, ribbed vaults, and extensive stained-glass windows to flood the interior with light. This design became the blueprint for cathedrals across Europe.

During the French Revolution (1793), the basilica was secularized and its royal tombs were desecrated, with the remains of the monarchs exhumed and dumped into common graves.

Among them King Louis XIV, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette.
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were beheaded by guillotine during the French Revolution in 1793 at the Place de la Révolution (now Place de la Concorde) in Paris. Their bodies were then dumped in quicklime in the Cimetière de la Madeleine

In 1815, after the Restoration of the monarchy, the remains were exhumed but only fragments in poor condition remained which are now in two sober graves. There is a splendid sculpture of them both in the church

The remains of Louis XIV and other kings, queens and other royalty were recovered from the mass graves of the revolution, identified in so far possible and placed in two ossuaries in the basilica's crypt. For Louis XIV there is a cenotaph

Entry is € 17,- but that is well worth it as you get a lot of French history and at the end there is an interesting small artisan village with trades related to the church restoration and a large video presentation."

Seimen Burum

"Extremely beautiful windows in a different style than many other churches. Most of the windows have recently been renovated so the light in the church was amazing. Only part of the church demands an entrance fee. So it is worthwhile even if you do not want to pay the fee to see the front of the church."

Elias Valbo