Vézelay Abbey
A hilltop Romanesque abbey church built between 1120 and 1150, now the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine. Its carved capitals and portals are among the masterpieces of Burgundian art, and pilgrims have long set out from here on the road to Santiago de Compostela.
- Where
- Vézelay, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
- Grade
- UNESCO heritage
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 8 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 47.4664, 3.7483
Get the Vézelay Abbey stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Vézelay Abbey. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Bourgogne-Franche-Comté volume with your photos and a note.
Near Vézelay Abbey
Fontenay Abbey 52 km
A Cistercian abbey founded by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in 1118, in a quiet wooded valley near Montbard. Almost all of it survives, church, cloister, dormitory, chapter house and the old forge, making it one of the most complete Cistercian abbeys in Europe.
Hospices de Beaune 96 km
A hospital for the poor founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, and now a museum. Its courtyard roofs of glazed tiles in coloured geometric patterns have become the emblem of Burgundy, and the wines from its vineyards are sold each November at a charity auction.
Bourges Cathedral 110 km
A cathedral dedicated to Saint Stephen, built from 1195 to 1230 over an earlier Romanesque church. It has no transepts, so its vast double-aisled interior runs unbroken from end to end, lit by some of the finest medieval stained glass in France.
Palace of Fontainebleau 130 km
One of the largest royal châteaux in France, a hunting lodge and autumn home to monarchs from Louis VII to Napoleon III. It became a national museum in 1927 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, and is surrounded by the great forest of Fontainebleau.
Cluny Abbey 134 km
The remains of a Benedictine abbey that once led a network of monasteries across Western Europe. Its great church was the largest in Christendom until St Peter's in Rome was rebuilt, and a soaring fragment of its transept still stands over the town.
Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans 161 km
A royal saltworks built under Louis XVI and designed by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux as a semicircle of stone buildings around the director's house. It was meant as the heart of an ideal town, and is one of the first great works of industrial architecture.
Château de Chambord 168 km
The largest château of the Loire Valley, commissioned by Francis I and built between 1519 and 1547. Its roofline bristles with towers and chimneys, and at its heart is a double spiral staircase often linked to Leonardo da Vinci.
Château de Cheverny 172 km
One of the châteaux of the Loire Valley, a house of pale stone with an elegant classical façade. Hergé drew on it for Marlinspike Hall, the home of Captain Haddock in the Tintin comics.
More UNESCO World Heritage sites in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Questions
Where is Vézelay Abbey?
Vézelay Abbey is in Vézelay, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Fontenay Abbey (52 km), Hospices de Beaune (96 km), Bourges Cathedral (110 km).
How do I get the Vézelay Abbey stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Vézelay Abbey and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Bourgogne-Franche-Comté volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Vézelay Abbey before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Bourgogne-Franche-Comté volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.