The Basilica of Saint-Denis is considered as a significant work of Gothic art, a place of pilgrimage and the final resting place of the kings and queens of France.

Built on the grave of Saint Denis, a Bishop of Paris who died in 250 AD, the royal abbey of Saint-Denis was the burial place of 43 kings, 32 queens and 10 servants to the monarchy. The basilica contains within its walls the largest collection of funerary sculpture from the 12th to the 16th centuries and features over 70 recumbent statues and monumental tombs from the Renaissance.

In the 12th century, the Abbot Suger, kings' advisor from 1135 to 1144 rebuilt portions of the abbey church using innovative structural and decorative features. A significant work of Gothic art, this church was the first to place a great importance on light, a symbol of divinity in religious architecture.