Father Saunière domain and the church
Opening Period Season 2026
– September/October : every day from 10:00 AM to 6:00PM
These times are subject to change, so don’t hesitate to follow us on FB to stay informed.
Prices:
– Self-guided tour: €6 per adult, free for children under 10
– Reduced rate: €5 per person (students, disabled persons, cardholders, groups of 10 or more on a self-guided tour)
– Guided tour (French, English, Spanish): €8 per person for groups of 10 or more, by reservation.
– Tour with digital tablet (French, English, Spanish): €8 per person
In summer, nighttime storytelling tours, sunset with wine tasting, from the Magdala Tower.
Free quiz for children, upon request.
For information and reservations, contact us by email: tourisme.rlc@orange.fr
Dogs are allowed (must be leashed).
What’s new in the village?
An immersive mobile tour accessible to all ages, in French, Spanish, and English!
Want to discover Rennes le Château at your own pace?
1. Scan the QR code opposite to access the app and meet at the village to begin the tour.
2. Scan the VILLAGE marker (located at the village entrance) and let yourself be guided by a virtual companion from the past.
3. Wander the streets and corners of the village in search of other markers (round signs). Scan them; they will provide you with all the details about the key sites!
4. At the church entrance, the guide will lead you through games and puzzles on the trail of the Saunière mystery within the estate (entrance fee).
The museum is an atypical architectural complex built by Abbé Saunière between 1900 and 1910. A visit to this historic site includes the elements described below.
Magdala Tower
The Magdala Tower is the emblematic town building ( neo-Gothic style). The visit allows you to enter the tower to discover the priest’s former library and to climb onto the crenellated platform.
The glass tower and wall
As you reach the glass tower, you will enjoy an incredible panorama of the upper Aude valley. The magnificent Abbé Saunière’s winter garden, will welcome your thoughts, soothed by this haven of peace.
VILLA BethanY
Discover the Villa Bethany, a very smart residence to which the priest attached a glazed private chapel.
The gardens
Walking through the garden, you might want to take a glance at the beautiful orange trees, winter garden of Father Saunière.
When the nice weather comes, you will be able to discover Father Saunière rose collections and take a break in the garden on a bench
The presbytery – MUSEUM
Physically attached to the church, the old presbytery has today been turned into the Bérenger Saunière Museum. Here you can learn more about this astonishing parish priest and his discoveries, and also about developments since his death. Information panels, archival material, furnishings, scale models and video projections carry you into the heart of the enigma that is Rennes-le-Château.
The original Carolingian altar pillar
The original Carolingian altar pillar that may have contained mysterious documents.
The Carolingian Knights’ Stone
The Carolingian Knights’ Stone uncovered by the priest in 1887 (and beneath which, it is said, Father Saunière discovered a pot of gold coins and a skull pierced by a hole).
A new cinema to relive history
The Abbé Saunière Estate invites you to discover its new 1900s cinema, an immersive space designed to bring the history of Rennes-le-Château to life through a unique audiovisual experience.
Visitors can enjoy a screening of an exclusive 15-minute film, specially produced under the auspices of the Abbé Saunière Estate.
Through historical reconstructions created from period photographs, engravings, and postcards, the film retraces the lives of Bérenger Saunière and Marie Dénarnaud, emblematic figures of Rennes-le-Château. This original creation transports viewers to the heart of the Belle Époque and allows them to discover the village as it was at the beginning of the 20th century.
This project is the result of the expertise of the BEEWAN teams, who combined the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence with the talent of their 3D artists and motion designers. Each scene was meticulously crafted to faithfully recreate the locations, characters, and atmosphere of the era.
A true invitation to travel back in time, the 1900 cinema room enhances the visitor experience at the Domaine and offers a new way to discover the fascinating world of Abbé Saunière through an immersive experience where heritage, innovation, and emotion converge.
The museum shop
EXPO IN THE GARDENS
The museum free access shop, offers local products, postcards and souvenirs.
You will also find many books on the complete history of Bérenger Saunière, as well as books on history, esotericism, Marie Madeleine, comics and local novels.
No shop online.
Christophe Souques lives and works in Occitanie. His work is enigmatic. Neither truly abstract nor entirely figurative, he blends painting and relief forms, using materials imbued with meaning, such as ash. Inspired by a non-academic path, Eastern thought, and phenomenology, he has developed an approach he describes as liminalist: an art of attention, an undesired imperative. It is a stable stance within uncertainty, one that asks the viewer to slow down. His works do not impose themselves immediately; they allow themselves to be discovered, felt… like a presence behind a tree. In a world saturated with images, his work offers a pause. Perhaps a way to awaken the essential, that which is not found in the image. A touch that questions boundaries: between object and space, between form and what it leaves behind or reveals.
St Mary Magdalene’s church
Free access. Be sure to check the different strange apects of the Mary Magdalene church. More than just a piece of history, some hidden messages are engraved in the stones. Before coming in the church, you may be warned by such writing “Terribilis este locus iste”, which means this place is terrible, terrible meaning strong, powerful and great…
