The Tour can be seen two churches named after St. Martin of Tours. However, one of them, whose history began in the V century a small chapel on the burial of the saint, now represented by only two towers and ruins, located in private areas. The second temple - the current basilica, its construction was started in the second half of XIX century near the location of the former church.

St. Martin, who died in 397 in the village of Kand in prayer, was buried in the cemetery of Tours, the saint's body was secretly taken out of the Kanda his admirers. After 40 years, over the tomb was built a small chapel, which is still four decades has been replaced by the basilica. By the end of the XVIII century the temple several times suffered from fires, suffered damage during the Huguenot wars, several times restored and rebuilt, and even the "overgrown" residential area Chateauneuf.

The greatest damage caused Basilica revolutionaries - during the Great French Revolution, the church was first adapted for the horses, and then completely demolished. In order to eliminate its possible recovery, destroyers laid at the spot where he stood, two new streets. From the temple there were only two towers - Charles the Great (Charlemagne), under which buried his wife, Hildegard, and Clock. As a result of research the remains of temples and old plans, scientists have found that the first basilica Martin of Tours had a lot to do with the appearance of the church of St. James in Santiago de Compostela.

Construction of the new basilica began only in the late XIX century, after it was found the burial place of the saint and cleared over him. The new temple tomb of Martin of Tours was under the altar. The author of the project was the architect Victor Laloux. Work on the construction of a new basilica completed in 1902.