Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey
Mont-Saint-Michel, France
The island and its village are free to enter; the abbey at the top is the ticket.
91 tickets & tours
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Best churches to visit in France
France is the home of Gothic architecture, and its churches are among the defining sights of the country: Notre-Dame and the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, Sacré-Cœur on Montmartre, the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel on its tidal island, and the coronation cathedral of Reims. Smaller names include the monolithic church of Saint-Émilion and the lavender fields of Sénanque Abbey.
Paris 6Toulouse 3Bordeaux 2Carcassonne 2Lyon 2Nice 2Strasbourg 2Aix-en-Provence 1Amiens 1Annecy 1Arles 1Asnieres Sur Oise 1Bayeux 1Bayonne 1Cluny 1Colmar 1Gordes 1Lourdes 1Mont-Saint-Michel 1Nantes 1Reims 1Rouen 1Saint-Rémy-de-Provence 1
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Notre-Dame de Paris
Paris, France
Entry to the cathedral is free and always has been, and since the reopening in December 2024 it is also timed: you…
34 tickets & tours
Sacre-Coeur Basilica
Paris, France
The basilica is free to enter and there is rarely a queue of more than a few minutes, so nothing needs booking.
23 tickets & tours
Sainte-Chapelle
Paris, France
The chapel has a timed ticket and a security screening shared with the law courts, which means two lines: one to be…
13 tickets & tours
Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere
Lyon, France
Entry to the basilica and the crypt below is free. Two things cost a little: the guided tour of the roofs and the north…
2 tickets & tours
Cluny Abbey
Cluny, France
Cluny Abbey stands in the town of Cluny, in Burgundy, France, about eighty kilometres north of Lyon, and a ticket is…
2 tickets & tours
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Paris, France
The church gives its name to the quarter around it and stands on the boulevard of the same name, opposite two of the…
2 tickets & tours
Saint-Michel Basilica, Bordeaux
Bordeaux, France
Saint-Michel is the church of a working quarter south of the centre of Bordeaux, and it comes as part of a…
2 tickets & tours
Basilica of Saint-Denis
Paris, France
Entry to the nave is free; the ticket is for the necropolis, the ambulatory and the crypt where the royal tombs stand,…
1 ticket or tour
Bayeux Cathedral
Bayeux, France
Bayeux Cathedral stands in the centre of Bayeux, Normandy, France, a few minutes'
1 ticket or tour
Bayonne Cathedral
Bayonne, France
Bayonne Cathedral, the Cathedral of Saint Mary, stands in the Grand Bayonne quarter of Bayonne, in the French Basque…
1 ticket or tour
Hautecombe Abbey
Annecy, France
Hautecombe Abbey stands on the western shore of Lac du Bourget, the largest natural lake in France, in Savoie, and…
1 ticket or tour
La Madeleine
Paris, France
The church is free to enter and there is no ticket of any kind.
1 ticket or tour
Nantes Cathedral
Nantes, France
Nantes Cathedral, the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, stands in the centre of Nantes, in western France, near…
1 ticket or tour
Reims Cathedral
Reims, France
The cathedral is free to enter. The ticket is for the towers, climbed on a guided visit of about an hour up 250 steps…
1 ticket or tour
Royaumont Abbey
Asnieres Sur Oise, France
Royaumont Abbey stands in the valley of the Oise at Asnières-sur-Oise, in the Val-d'Oise department about…
1 ticket or tour
Saint-Emilion Monolithic Church
Bordeaux, France
The underground monuments of Saint-Emilion can be seen only on a guided tour run by the tourist office, and the ticket…
1 ticket or tour
Senanque Abbey
Gordes, France
The abbey can be visited only on a guided tour, booked online in advance for a fixed slot;
1 ticket or tour
Aix Cathedral
Aix-en-Provence, France
Aix Cathedral, the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur, stands at the northern end of the old town of Aix-en-Provence, in…
No online ticket
Amiens Cathedral
Amiens, France
Amiens Cathedral is free to enter and stands in the centre of Amiens, an hour north of Paris by train, and it is one of…
No online ticket
Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse
Toulouse, France
Saint-Sernin is free to walk into and stands ten minutes north of the main square of Toulouse, so the decision is only…
No online ticket
Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus
Carcassonne, France
The basilica stands inside the walled citadel of Carcassonne, at its southern end, a few minutes on foot from the…
No online ticket
Carcassonne Cathedral
Carcassonne, France
Almost everyone who visits Carcassonne goes to the walled citadel on the hill and never learns that the cathedral is…
No online ticket
Church of St. Trophime, Arles
Arles, France
The Church of Saint Trophime stands on the Place de la Republique in the centre of Arles, in Provence, facing the town…
No online ticket
French cathedrals are free to enter, while towers, crypts and treasuries are run as monuments with their own tickets. The pages below explain which is which, when the queues are shortest and how to combine the churches with a day in each town.