Collégiale St-Lazare

Yonne


Eight centuries ago, masses of pilgrims flocked here thanks to a piece of the skull of St Lazarus, believed to provide protection from leprosy. The early-12th-century church once had three portals, but one was crushed when the northern belfry came a-tumblin' down in 1633; the two remaining portals are grandly decorated in Romanesque style, though much of the carving has been damaged.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Yonne attractions

1. Tour de l'Horloge

0.05 MILES

This solid, 15th-century clock tower spans the old city's main thoroughfare.

2. Musée de l'Avallonnais

0.07 MILES

Founded in 1862, this wonderful small museum displays a series of expressionist watercolours by Georges Rouault (1871–1958) and an excellent art-deco…

3. Fontaines Salées

6.68 MILES

Located along the D958, 5km southeast of Vézelay, these ancient saltwater springs served as a salt production site in Neolithic times, then later a Celtic…

4. Chapelle Ste-Croix

7.45 MILES

This Romanesque chapel on the hillside below Vézelay dates back to the 12th century, when Bernard de Clairvaux gave a sermon on this spot to launch the…

5. Basilique Ste-Madeleine

7.59 MILES

Founded in the AD 880s on a former Roman and Carolingian site, Vézelay's stunning hilltop basilica was rebuilt between the 11th and 13th centuries. On the…

6. Maison Jules Roy

7.64 MILES

Up near the top of town, the former home of Algerian-born writer Jules Roy (1907–2000) is an enchanting spot with fine views of the basilica. Walk around…

7. Musée Zervos

7.85 MILES

This fantastic museum in the exquisite townhouse of Nobel Prize–winning pacifist writer Romain Rolland (1866–1944) holds the collection of Christian…

8. Le Château de Bazoches

8.98 MILES

Le Château de Bazoches sits magnificently on a hillside with views to Vézelay, 12km to the north. Built in the 13th century and visited by royalty…