Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume - Couvent Royal

The discovery of the tomb, containing the relics of Saint Mary Magdalene, in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in 1279 was a very clever "marketing" plot, that put the pilgrim business in Vezelay to a sudden end.

Charles II of Anjou, King of Naples, founded the Basilique Ste. Marie-Madeleine in 1295. Pope Boniface VIII placed it under the new order of Dominicans.

The basilica was built over the crypt (where the tomb had been discovered) but the works slowed down and the basilica never got completed. Next to the basilica, the Dominicans erected a large convent next, to support the pilgrims. The convent, built around a cloister, existed upto the French Revolution, when the building for a while served as a prison. Since 2002 here is a very agreeable and comfortable hotel.

The hotel´s restaurant "Le Chapitre" is centered around the former chapter room. During the warm summer evenings, it is very pleasant to be seated in the cloister for dinner.

www.couvent-royal.fr/en/