Paris. Just a couple of blocks from the right bank of the Seine, right at the intersection of Boulevard du Palais and Rue de Rivoli, lies the entrance to the gardens where the Tour Saint-Jacques still stands. Five centuries later, this beautiful Flamboyant Gothic bell tower, 52 meters tall, is the only remaining trace of what was once the church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie, built in the 16th century and destroyed in 1797.
Surrounded by a beautiful park open to the public, this tower was the starting point for pilgrims bound for Santiago de Compostela who chose the Via Turonensis, the route that passes through the city of Tours. This central, iconic spot in Paris marked the beginning of one of the many roads to Compostela that eventually converged at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, in the Aquitaine region. From there, pilgrims took the so-called Camino Francés to the town of Puente la Reina in Navarre, and from that point on, all the roads became one, leading to the apostle's resting place in Compostela and even further, to the known end of the world, or Finis Terrae, on the coast of Galicia.
The old church of Saint James got its name because the butchers' guild had a large 3.50-meter statue of the apostle Saint James installed at its top, depicted, unmistakably, in pilgrim's garb.
At the base of the tower stands a statue of Blaise Pascal, commemorating the atmospheric pressure experiments carried out there. This tower also inspired Alexandre Dumas to write La Tour Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie in 1856, and buried beneath its structure lie the remains of the legendary alchemist Nicolas Flamel.
By metro, take line 1 to the Châtelet–Les Halles station.
