The Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine is the reason Vézelay exists and the reason it was important for eight centuries. It is a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture — recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the pilgrimage roads to Santiago de Compostela, of which Vézelay was one of the four principal French starting points.
The tympanum over the central portal is one of the greatest works of Romanesque sculpture in existence: Christ in Majesty surrounded by apostles and peoples of the known world, carved with extraordinary vitality and detail. The nave interior is unusually light for a Romanesque church, with alternating white and ochre voussoirs giving the arches a striped rhythm that rewards slow examination. The choir, rebuilt in Gothic style in the 12th century, creates a striking contrast with the earlier Romanesque nave.
The basilica is still an active pilgrimage church. Visit early in the morning if you can — the light through the south windows in summer is exceptional, and you will have the nave more or less to yourself.