Collégiale Sainte-Gertrude
Fodor's choice
This grand building dates back to the mid-7th century when an abbey was founded here by the ancestors of Frankish king Charlemagne. Its first abbess, Gertrude, was his great aunt and was famously gentle in her manner. The abbey was among the most important in Europe right up until its closure by the French Revolutionary army in 1798. It is a magnificent structure, with a rising western facade topping five stories and a giant nave, beneath which you can visit the archaeological excavation where Charlemagne's first wife, Himeltrude, is buried.
