Sens

Before Paris, Sens, in the Yonne, was the seat of the largest archbishopric in France, whose authority once extended as far as the capital. This explains the early construction of its Cathedral of Saint-Étienne, one of the very first Gothic cathedrals built in France, from the mid-12th century, and a model for many later buildings.

The cathedral treasury, one of the richest in France, holds the liturgical vestments of Thomas Becket, who took refuge in Sens during his exile. Next door, the synodal palace, a rare example of 13th-century Gothic civil architecture, completes this exceptional ensemble. The old town, ringed by wide boulevards on the line of the old ramparts, has kept many half-timbered houses and mansions reflecting the prosperity of this former religious capital, now the second town of the Yonne, between Burgundy and the Île-de-France.

← Other sites in Yonne