Cathédrale Saint-Étienne

Gothic cathedral with exceptional 13th-century stained glass

The Cathedral of Saint-Étienne is the centrepiece of Auxerre's skyline, visible from across the valley. Construction began in 1215 and continued for over three centuries, leaving the facade incomplete — the south tower was never finished, giving it an asymmetrical outline that local historians have argued about ever since. The interior is famous for its 13th-century stained glass, among the finest in Burgundy, particularly in the choir ambulatory.

The crypt is separately ticketed and worth the extra cost: it contains a late-Antique fresco of Christ on horseback — rare, early, and genuinely startling. Free to enter the main body of the cathedral; crypt admission around €3.

things to do sight architecture
A story
The crypt beneath the cathedral contains a Gallo-Roman wall and a 5th-century fresco of Christ on a white horse — the oldest known representation of Christ as a mounted warrior and one of the earliest Christian images surviving in France.