Notre Dame d'Afrique

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Lonely Planet review

The Byzantine-inspired Notre Dame d'Afrique, known locally as Madame Afrique, sits above the bustle of the city, seemingly impervious to the fact that the people who created it and filled its pews have long gone. The idea for the church is said to have come from two women of Lyon, who missed the shrine that sits above their native city and who placed a statue of the virgin in the hollow of an olive tree on the north of the city.

The basilica was finally consecrated in 1872 by Bishop Lavigerie, founder of the White Fathers. Four years later, the statue was crowned 'queen of Africa' with the approval of the Pope in Rome. The date of that event, 30 April, has become the statue's feast day. Sitting 120m above sea level on the plateau of Bouzaréah, the basilica is, above all, a monument to departed French piety; its walls are covered in small memorial plaques, placed by people in need of the Virgin's help. Mass is said daily in French ( ) and on Friday in English ( ). In November 2006 the EU, French government and city of Algiers agreed to share the cost of restoring the building.