Basilique Saint-Michel

Basilique Saint-Michel (Basilica of St Michael) was built at the turn of the 15th century in the Gothic Flamboyant style. A highly unusual design, it features a cruciform church building and a separate bell tower. The tower, which tapers to form an elegant, ornately decorated spire, is 114 meters tall and was built after the church building, sometime in the 15th century. It makes the Basilica of Saint-Michel the city’s tallest building, and the second tallest church in all of France. The dizzying height of the tower makes it visible across much of Bordeaux, a flat city with relatively few tall buildings. (Bordeaux, France)