Société Française des Amis de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle
La plus ancienne de toutes les associations jacquaires – depuis 1950
Two tour groups are scheduled, the 1st at 2 pm and the 2nd at 3 pm.
When you arrive at the AGM, register by indicating your preferred time. Places are limited.
The cost of the visit is €12. You will be asked to pay €10 on registration. For members, the company will cover the difference.
Further visits will be scheduled for spring 2023, especially for those who are unable to visit on the day of the AGM.
This is an exceptional visit, as the Tour St Jacques is currently closed to the public.
The Tour Saint-Jacques stands alone in the middle of the square that bears its name. Erected between 1509 and 1523, the Tour Saint-Jacques is the only remnant of the 16th-century church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie, which was destroyed in 1797.
This sanctuary was the meeting and departure point on the via Turonensis (or Tours route) of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
The statue of Blaise Pascal, installed at the base of the tower, reminds us that he repeated his barometric experiments in Puy-de-Dôme here.
A statue of Saint Jacques le Majeur crowns the north-western corner of the platform, which has housed a small weather station since 1891. It is part of the Montsouris Observatory.
The carved symbols of the four evangelists (lion, bull, eagle and man) appear in the corners. These statues were restored in the last century, as were the gargoyles and eighteen statues of saints decorating the tower walls.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the Société Française des Amis de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle, the commemorative plaque placed at the foot of the Tour Saint-Jacques in 1965 was restored by the City of Paris.