Basilique Saint-Eutrope

The Basilique Saint-Eutrope stands at the southern edge of the old town, a 15th-century Gothic building erected above an extraordinarily well-preserved 11th-century crypt that is the real reason to visit. The crypt houses the tomb of Saint Eutrope, the legendary first bishop of Saintes, and was one of the key pilgrimage sites on the road to Santiago de Compostela. It is one of the largest Romanesque crypts in France, with massive columns and good Romanesque carving on the capitals.

The upper church, rebuilt in Gothic style in the 15th century, lost its nave during the Wars of Religion and what remains is essentially the choir. This unintended truncation gives the building a curious grandeur — the choir stands alone, tall and narrow, like a fragment of something larger. The crypt is open to visitors and is by far the more interesting space.

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A story
Saint Eutrope is traditionally identified as the first bishop of Saintes, sent from Rome in the 3rd century. His tomb in the crypt of this basilica made Saintes an important stopping point on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela — pilgrims coming from Paris and Tours would pass through Saintes and venerate the relics before continuing south. The crypt is one of the most complete surviving Romanesque crypts in France, and you can still see where the pilgrims' feet wore grooves in the stone floor around the tomb over centuries of veneration.