visit to St Denis cathedral while in Paris
 

Is St. Denis worthwhile? I know it's not in central Paris...is it an easy Metro ride? Feedback on this site is wanted...Kerouac your thoughts?

I love to visit Saint Denis Cathedral..the church was built in Honour of Saint Denis the first Bishop of Paris.. who was beheaded at Montmartre (Martyr's Mount) and according to tradition carried that head several miles before expiring.

Many Kings of France were buried there.

Saint Denis is my family favourite cathedral in Paris.Depends where you are located is a good 30 minutes trip..but is worth it.

Here are some informations of how to get there..


<The most direct route to St-Denis is by metro (Basilique St-Denis, line 13); visitors headed to the stadium should take the RER (RER Stade de France, line B5 or RER St-Denis, line D1). The tourist office, 1, rue de la République, has English-speaking guides, info on the basilica and the town of St-Denis, maps, suggested walks, restaurant guides, and a ticket outlet for events in the Stade de France. From the metro, take exit 1; turn left down r. Jean Jaurès, following the signs to the tourist office; and turn right on r. de la République. (☎01 55 87 08 70; www.ville-saint-denis.fr. Open daily Apr.-Sept. 1am-1pm and 2-4pm; Oct.-Mar. 10am-2pm.)>

denisea:
I think the visit to St.Denis cathedral is vey worth while. You get to see the burial sites of most of the kings and queens of France plus the preserved heart of the ten year old child who would have become Louis the 17th, had he not perished in prison during the revolution.

It's a very easy ride to St.Denis on Metro 13. I think it was about 30 minutes from central Paris.

If you like middle eastern food, the area seems to be mostly
inhabited by French-Arab people and you can get some great middle eastern food for lunch.

I hope you enjoy your visit to St.Denis, I did.

A lot of people consider the basilica (not a cathedral) of Saint Denis to be the highlight of their trip. The metro goes straight there and the station is called (guess what?) Saint Denis-Basilique on line 13.

The city of Saint Denis is populated by 36% immigrants, mostly from the Maghreb (who do not eat "Middle Eastern" food, so I am not sure what rambleral is talking about). Otherwise, it is a perfectly normal city of 100,000 people.

I consider the basilica is the single greatest work of architecture in Paris. Its importance to French history and culture and the history of western art in general can't be overstated in my view. And it is simply gorgeous! Go on a sunny day when you can fully enjoy the colors that fill the interior from the stained glass. Be sure to fully visit the crypt, with all its amazing and world class statue art.

The Metro ride is simple. The walk from the Metro station to the basilica is 10 minutes, if that.

Here are some comments from a previous post: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-171819-2.cfm

Definitely worth the trip. The basilica is phenomenal , there is also a short video before you enter that explains what you are seeing. We were there on a market day which made it even more fun. There is also a very good shopping area nearby. The TO is very helpful

We also enjoyed our trip to the basilica, and on the advice from the staff in the visitor centre, decided to walk back to Paris along the canal path.

This was explained as a walk taking about one hour, and was most enjoyable up to the point where the canal cuts through an area where a new metro station is being constructed.

Because this major building site meant we could no longer walk beside the canal, and of course the little map we had been given didn't show any other detail, our journey took far longer than expected, and we were very relieved to finally reach another metro station and rest our weary legs.

Moral of this story: be prepared for the unexpected! Di

Yes, go, by all means.

Yes, a new shopping mall is being built along the canal at Porte d'Aubervilliers. It opens in April 2011, and the path will be lovely then.

Another vote for seeing St Denis.

I visited last winter on a "Paris Walks" tour. It was one of the highlights of the week.

thanks everyone; was familiar with its beginnings and as the burial place of royalty;glad to know it is worth it!

sorry about the cathedral faux-pas :-)

I just clicked on this thread by accident, and now you're all making me want to see it!

According to Wikipedia, the abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis.

Beware that the opening hours of the basilica and the crypt are not always the same. The day of our visit the crypt was closing at 2PM. If we had done the trip in the afternoon, based on the hours of the basilica, we would have been unhappy campers.

You are indeed correct, rambleral. I was wrong. The Saint Denis website says:

BASILIQUE CATHÉDRALE DE SAINT-DENIS

Près de Paris, visitez la basilique-cathédrale de Saint-Denis, le premier chef d'œuvre monumental de l'art gothique. Découvrez la nécropole royale et sa collection unique en Europe de plus de 70 gisants et tombeaux sculptés, dans la lumière colorée de vitraux des XIIe et XIXe siècles.

The basilica of St-Denis is outstanding for its exposition of the change in architecture from Romanesque to Gothic, all under (and over) one roof.

There are memorial tombs for Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI in the crypt; the bones, however, are long gone, as are many of the remains of previous kings and queens of France.

Kerouac, you could never be wrong and you have such great contributions to the forum that any slight mistake would be kindly overlooked.

Bookmarking for March Paris trip!

st. denis was a bit of a metro ride (easy, just not close) from where i was staying, but i went specifically to see the grave of marie antoinette and king louis. it is an interesting change of pace if you are into seeing cathedrals i suppose. my favorite is st. sulpice however.