In the Middle Ages, Tours was an important pilgrimage city thanks to the relics of soldier-turned-evangelist St Martin (c 317–97). In the 5th century a basilica was constructed above his tomb; in the 13th century it was replaced by an enormous Romanesque church, of which only two towers, Tour Charlemagne and Tour de l’Horloge, remain. Modern-day Basilique St-Martin, a domed, neo-Byzantine structure, was built from 1886 to 1925.
Basilique St-Martin
Tours
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Nearby Tours attractions
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One of the last vestiges of Tours' 13th-century, Romanesque Basilique St-Martin.
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With its flying buttresses, gargoyles and twin Renaissance-style towers (70m) – and, inside, Gothic vaulting, dazzling stained glass and huge baroque…