St-Maximin-la-Ste-Baume is primarily renowned for its enormous Ste-Marie-Madeleine Basilica with its convent.
The basilica is said to be built at the place where Mary Magdalene is buried. There are, actually, some relics which were found in1279, but there is obviously no proof that it really is Mary Magdalene. According to the legend Mary and her holy followers were wrecked and brought safely ashore on the coast off la Camargue. The legend goes that Mary Magdalene found her way to the Massif de la Ste-Baume, where she spent 30 years in a grotto before she died in St-Maximin. The big basilica, which was built between1296 and 1532, is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Provence.